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^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *# 


Presented    by  CJ>\~\  (2/  O^^-Vhor, 


Division  ■ 

Section 


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THE  RECORDS 


Trinity  Church,  Princeton 


DIOCESE  OF   NEW   JERSEY 


1833-1908 


THE  REV.   ALFRED   B.   BAKER,   D.D. 


Rector  of  the  Parish 


Princeton,  New  Jersey 


Printed,  at 
The  Princeton  University  Press 


To 

The  Wardens,  Vestrymen  and  Parishioners 

of 

TRINITY  CHURCH 

These  Records  are  Inscribed 

As  a  Token  of  the  Affection 

of 

Their  Pastor  and  Friend 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/recordsoftrinityOObake 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

The  chief  sources  from  which  the  facts  in  this  brief  history  were 
obtained  are  the  documents  stored  up  in  the  archives  of  the  Parish, 
the  notices  of  parochial  events  in  the  newspapers  of  the  Borough,  the 
references  to  the  same  in  the  Journals  of  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese, 
and  the  records  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Vestry  as  contained  in  three 
Books  of  Minutes.  One  other  source  is  the  memory  of  the  writer,  and 
that  of  some  of  the  older  members  of  the  Congregation.  The  object  of 
this  publication  is  to  preserve  the  records  and  remembrances  from  the 
oblivion  into  which,  otherwise,  they  might  soon  be  swept  by  the  flow  of 
time.  Together  they  will  form  the  annals  of  an  household :  and  some 
things  will  be  narrated  which  to  an  outside  reader  may  seem  to  be 
trifling,  but  to  those  within  the  family  circle  may  have  valued  association. 

Doubtless  the  narrative  will  show  that  it  was  too  hastily  prepared, 
amid  the  pressing  duties  of  a  busy  pastorate ;  and  for  any  errors  which 
may  have  crept  into  it,  the  writer  alone  must  be  held  responsible. 


THE  RECORDS   OF   TRINITY   CHURCH 

Chapter  I 

Organization  and  Early  History  of  the  Parish 

The  early  records  of  the  Parish  are  fragmentary  and  incomplete : 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  weave  the  material  they  furnish  into  an  orderly 
and  continuous  narrative  worthy  of  the  name  of  history.  Still  the 
founders  of  the  Parish  were  careful  to  record,  in  the  order  of  their 
occurrence,  some  of  the  more  important  events  belonging  to  the  first 
stage  of  our  parochial  existence.  Fortunately,  there  is  preserved  to  us 
an  authentic  account  of  several  successive  meetings  which  were  prelimi- 
nary to  the  formation  of  the  Parish.  The  first  of  these  accounts  is 
found  in  the  New  Jersey  Patriot  of  August  18,  1827,  as  follows : 

An  Ajourned  meeting  of  those  persons  who  are  friendly  to 
the  erection  of  an  Episcopal  Church  in  the  borough  of  Prince- 
ton, took  place  this  day,  at  5  o'clock,  P.  M.  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
John  Joline,  when  after  reading  several  letters  on  the  subject, 
which  had  been  received  since  the  last  meeting,  the  following 
resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  considers  it  expedient  to  pro- 
ceed without  delay,  to  raise  funds  for  the  purpose  of  building 
a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  borough  of  Princeton. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee,  consisting  of  John  Potter, 
Esq.  Captain  James  Renshaw,  John  R.  Thomson,  Samuel  J. 
Bayard,  and  Robert  F.  Stockton,  be  appointed  to  open  a  sub- 
scription book,  and  to  solicit  and  receive  donations  for  the  pur- 
pose of  purchasing  a  lot,  and  building  an  Episcopal  church. 

Resolved,  That  the  above  named  committee  be  authorized 
to  select  and  purchase  a  Lot  of  Ground,  within  the  limits  of  the 
borough  of  Princeton,  suitable  for  the  erection  of  a  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church. 

Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  signed 
by  the  Chairman  and  Secretary  and  published  in  the  New 
Jersey  Patriot. 

R.  F.  Stockton,  Chr'n. 
John  R.  Thomson,  Secr'y. 
Princeton,  August,  16,  1827. 

This  meeting  is  not  referred  to  in  the  official  records  of  the  Parish 
and  it  was  probably  without  more  definite  result  than  the  collection  of 
the  subscriptions,  which  are  entered  in  a  book  still  preserved  in  the 
Parish  archives. 


The  first  meeting  which  led  to  decided  action  was  convened,  by 
public  advertisement,  at  Joline's  Hotel — now  the  Nassau  Inn — on  the 
first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  1833,  and  it  was  numerously  attended 
by  the  citizens  of  the  Borough.  At  this  meeting,  which  was  called  to 
order  by  the  appointment  of  Robert  F.  Stockton  as  Chairman,  and 
John  R.  Thompson  as  Secretary,  the  question  of  the  expediency  of 
establishing  a  Parish  in  Princeton  was  fully  discussed.  The  opinion 
of  some  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  had  been  obtained  beforehand : 
and  it  is  said  that  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  them  had  opposed  the 
movement  to  place  a  church  in  Princeton,  on  the  ground  that  it  never 
could  succeed.  But  the  fathers  of  the  Parish  had  a  more  hopeful  spirit : 
and  after  considering  all  objections,  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of 
those  present  at  the  meeting,  "that  if  practicable,  a  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  should  be  established  in  the  Borough,  and  that  a  committee 
should  be  appointed  to  take  in  charge  the  further  examination  of  the 
question,  and  report  at  an  early  day."  The  committee  designated  for 
this  work  consisted  of 

Robert  F.  Stockton,  Charles   Steadman, 

John  Potter,  Doctor  J.  I.  Dunn,  and 

John  R.  Thompson,  C.   H.  Vancleve. 

These  gentlemen  were  the  more  disposed  to  a  favorable  determination 
of  the  question  with  which  they  had  to  deal,  because  of  the  friendly 
interest  and  encouragement  of  Mrs.  Harriet  Maria  Stockton  (a  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  John  Potter  and  wife  of  Com.  R.  F.  Stockton),  who  had 
ardently  desired  the  formation  of  a  Parish  in  this  place,  and  had  put 
forth  her  best  endeavors  to  secure  the  accomplishment  of  her  wish. 
Mrs.  Stockton  was  a  devout  churchwoman,  and  was  faithful  in  the 
support  of  church  principles,  and  the  practice  of  church  duties  :  but  at 
the  same  time  she  was  most  considerate  of  the  feelings  of  the  Christian 
people  of  the  town  who  did  not  sympathize  with  her  views  or  share 
her  desire  for  the  establishment  of  the  church  in  Princeton.  In  dealing 
with  their  prejudices  she  showed  much  gentleness,  kindness  and  Chris- 
tian charity ;  others  exhibited  the  same  spirit,  and  soon  all  active 
opposition  ceased,  and  there  was  a  general  willingness  on  the  part  of 
the  people  to  cooperate  in  the  good  work.  The  committee  determined 
to  proceed  with  it,  but,  guided  by  a  true  churchly  instinct,  they  made 
it  their  first  duty  to  communicate  with  the  Rt.  Rev.  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese,  and  to  ascertain  whether,  in  case  a  church  was  erected,  he 
would  take  it  under  his  pastoral  care.  At  a  meeting  of  the  committee, 
on  February  sixteenth,  Mr.  John  Potter  stated  that  the  Bishop  had 
responded  satisfactorily  to  their  communication,  and  had  appointed  a 
day  on  which  he  would  visit  Princeton  to  confer  with  the  committee 
respecting  their  plans  and  methods  of  procedure.     It  was  determined 


at  this  meeting  to  purchase  a  vacant  lot,  belonging  to  Mr.  S.  W.  Stock- 
ton, then  absent  from  the  United  States,  for  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred 
dollars  :  and,  at  a  meeting  of  citizens  held  a  few  days  after,  the  wish 
was  unanimously  expressed  that  a  church  should  be  built  on  the  lot 
provided  by  the  committee,  it  being  deemed  an  eligible  situation  and  in 
every  way  suitable  for  the  purpose.  At  a  further  meeting  called  on  the 
twenty-third  of  March  at  the  house  of  Com.  Stockton,  an  election  was 
held  for  five  Vestrymen  and  two  Church  Wardens,  to  continue  in  office 
till  Easter  Monday,  1834.  The  following  gentlemen  were  elected :  Mr. 
Charles  Steadman  and  Dr.  J.  I.  Dunn,  as  Church  Wardens ;  and  Messrs. 
John  Potter,  R.  F.  Stockton,  C.  W.  Taylor,  John  R.  Thomson  and  C.  H. 
Vancleve,  as  Vestrymen.  At  this  meeting  it  was  resolved,  on  the 
motion  of  Mr.  John  Potter,  that  a  subscription  book  be  opened  in  aid 
of  the  erection  of  the  church,  and  that  plans  and  estimates  for  a  suitable 
structure  be  immediately  received.  The  subscription  book,  which  is  still 
in  existence,  shows  that  the  sum  of  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-one  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  was  soon  pledged  to  the 
building  fund.  It  also  shows  that,  while  the  erection  of  the  church 
was  chiefly  owing  to  the  liberality  of  a  few  the  effort  was  yet  wisely 
made  to  interest  the  many,  and  to  give  the  whole  community  an 
opportunity  to  help  on  the  work.  It  is  interesting  to  see  the  names  of 
the  Rev.  Drs.  Hodge  and  Miller  on  the  subscription  list.  Bishop  Clark, 
in  his  Reminiscenses,  says  that  Dr.  Miller  had  a  strong  prejudice 
against  the  Episcopal  Church,  and,  when  he  was  asked  what  induced 
him  to  contribute  to  the  erection  of  the  edifice  which  was  being  built 
near  his  own  home,  he  replied  that  he  protested  as  a  clergyman,  but 
subscribed  the  money  as  a  citizen.  The  good  Doctor's  controversy  with 
Bishop  Hobart  on  the  subject  of  "Episcopacy"  is  known  to  all  readers 
on  Church  Government.  It  was  a  happy  sequel  of  the  controversy  that 
Dr.  Miller's  son  should  soon  have  been  betrothed  to  Bishop  Hobart's 
granddaughter ;  and  may  we  not  see  in  this  a  betokening  of  a  union 
which  shall  some  time  be  effected  of  the  friendly  Christian  bodies  to 
which  the  controversialists  belonged. 

On  the  first  of  May,  1833,  the  date  when  Bishop  Doane  wade  his 
promised  visit  to  Princeton,  the  following  notice  was  given  by  public 
advertisement : 

Notice. 

"The  Wardens  and  Vestry  who  were  elected  on  the  twenty- 
third  day  of  March  last,  and  all  those  who  are  friendly  to  the 
erection  of  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Borough  of 
Princeton,  will  meet  at  the  Town  Hall  on  Saturday,  the 
eleventh  day  of  May  next,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  themselves  into  a  corporate  body, 
according  to  the  statute  in  such  cases  made  and  provided,  and 


10 

to  designate  the  name  and  title  by  which  the  intended  church 
shall  be  known. 

(Signed)     "Charles  Stedman, 
"J.  I.  Dunn, 

"Church  Wardens." 

On  the  date  indicated  in  this  notice  a  meeting  was  held,  and  the  steps 
necessary  to  effect  the  incorporation  of  the  Parish  were  duly  taken. 
It  was  also  then  decided  that  the  corporate  name  and  title  of  the  Parish 
should  be  "The  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  Trinity  Church, 
in  the  Borough  of  Princeton."  The  title  "Trinity"  was  selected  because 
of  the  favor  with  which  at  that  time  the  erroneous  views  of  Unitarians 
were  received  by  educated  people  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States. 
Two  deputies  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  were  elected  at  this  meeting. 
The  gentlemen  who  first  represented  the  Parish  in  this  capacity  were 
Mr.  John  Potter  and  Mr.  Richard  S.  Field.  A  Building  Committee 
(consisting  of  Mr.  John  Potter,  Mr.  Chas.  Steadman  and  Dr.  J.  I. 
Dunn)  was  also  appointed,  and  to  it  all  the  proposals  for  the  building 
of  the  church  were  referred  for  final  action.  The  proceedings  of  this 
meeting  were  recorded  in  the  book  of  minutes  by  Mr.  John  R.  Thom- 
son, Secretary :  but  as  Mr.  Thomson  declined  reelection  to  the  Vestry 
on  the  next  Easter  Monday,  Mr.  Richard  S.  Field  was  chosen  in  his 
place.  At  a  meeting  on  April  5,  1834,  Mr.  R.  S.  Field  was  made  Secre- 
tary of  the  Vestry,  and  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  this  office  for  several 
years. 

The  Building  Committee  prosecuted  their  work  with  fidelity  and 
dispatch,  and  were  ready  on  the  4th  day  of  July  for  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  church.  Bishop  Doane,  in  his  address  to  the 
Convention  of  the  next  year,  makes  the  following  reference  to  the 
interesting  occasion : 

"On  Thursday,  July  4,  I  laid  the  corner-stone  of  Trinity 
Church,  in  the  Borough  of  Princeton,  several  of  the  clergy 
of  the  Diocese  being  present  and  assisting,  and  with  them 
my  much  esteemed  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bayard,  Rector  of  St. 
Clement's  Church,  New  York.  The  day  was  most  auspicious. 
A  large  and  respectable  company  of  persons  paid  the  strictest 
attention  to  the  devotional  services  and  to  the  address.  Nor 
should  the  courtesy  of  the  military  company  on  parade  that 
day  be  unnoticed,  whose  part  in  the  procession  with  appropriate 
music  of  their  excellent  band  added  not  a  little  to  the  interest 
of  the  occasion.  I  am  most  happy  in  being  able  to  say  that 
the  progress  of  this  noble  enterprise  has  thus  far  been  accord- 
ing to  this  beginning.  The  church,  a  beautiful  stone  edifice, 
is  in  rapid  progress  toward  completion,  and  will  be  prepared 
for  consecration,  if  God  permit,  in  a  little  more  than  a  year 
from  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  The  good  will  of  the  whole 
community  towards  the  undertaking  continues  still  to  be  mani- 
fested in  unequivocal  expressions,  and  the  prospect  is  as  full  of 


encouragement  as  our  hearts  could  desire.  That  the  church  in 
this  instance  is  largely  indebted  to  individual  energy  and  benefi- 
cence takes  nothing  from  our  obligations  of  acknowledgement  to 
God,  of  whose  only  gift  it  cometh  that  His  faithful  people  do 
unto  Him  true  and  laudable  service." 

Laid  up  in  the  archives  of  the  Parish  is  the  original  MS.  address 
delivered  by  Bishop  Doane  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  As  this 
will  be  of  general  interest  it  is  elsewhere  printed  in  full.  (See 
Appendix). 

Consecration  of  the  Old  Church. 

In  the  fall  of  the  following  year  (1834)  the  building  was  finished 
and  set  apart,  in  solemn  service,  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God. 
The  consecration  was  performed  by  Bishop  Doane  on  Tuesday,  Septem- 
ber 23,  in  the  presence  of  the  Bishops  of  Pennsylvania  and  North 
Carolina  and  a  number  of  the  clergy  of  New  Jersey.  Morning  prayers 
were  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Abercrombie  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Dulachet,  then  of  Virginia.  The  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Ives,  Bishop  of  North 
Carolina,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mead  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bayard 
of  New  York  assisted  in  the  Communion  Services. 

It  is  interesting  to  recollect  that  the  venerable  preacher  on  the 
occasion  was  Bishop  White,  who  was  then  in  the  eighty-seventh  year 
of  his  age,  and  who  died  a  little  more  than  a  year  after.  No  record 
of  the  theme  of  this  consecration  sermon  can  anywhere  be  found.  The 
organist  at  the  consecration  service  was  Thomas  March  Clark,  who  was 
then  a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  but  who 
took  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church  and  became  the  Presiding  Bishop 
late  in  life.  In  his  Reminiscences  Bishop  Clark  says :  "The  Episcopal 
Church  was  built  during  my  time,  and  no  one  being  found  to  play  the 
organ  at  the  consecration,  I  volunteered  my  services,  and  all  that  I  have 
to  say  about  it  is  that  I  was  never  asked  to  repeat  the  operation." 

In  the  Journal  of  Bishop  Doane  I  find  the  following  references  to 
the  occasion :  "Trinity  Church,  admired  by  all  for  its  architectural 
beauty,  is  most  interesting  to  churchmen  as  a  rare  instance  of  enterprise 
and  munificence  on  the  part  of  a  few  individuals,  and  as  a  station  of 
distinguished  importance  to  the  best  interests  of  Christianity.  Desired, 
rather  than  hoped  for,  through  a  period  of  many  years,  its  accomplish- 
ment is  hailed  as  an  expressive  instance  of  God's  favor  toward  His 
Church, inviting  us  to  livelier  emotions  of  gratitude,  and  encouraging 
us  to  loftier  aims  and  efforts  more  devoted  in  His  cause." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Certificate  of  Consecration : 

The  Church  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  Trinity  Church, 
Princeton,  having  requested  me  to  consecrate  the  house  of 
worship  lately  erected  in  and  for  the  said  parish, — 


Be  it  known,  that  on  this  23d  day  of  September,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1834,  with  the  rites  and  solemnities  pre- 
scribed I  have  consecrated  and  set  apart  the  said  house  of 
worship;  separating  it  henceforth  from  all  unhallowed,  ordi- 
nary and  common  uses,  and  dedicating  it  to  the  service  of 
Almighty  God  for  reading  His  holy  Word,  for  celebrating 
His  holy  Sacraments,  for  offering  to  His  glorious  Majesty 
the  sacrifices  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  for  blessing  the  people 
in  His  name,  and  for  the  performance  of  all  other  holy  offices ; 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Blessed  Lord  and  Saviour ;  and 
according  to  the  rites  and  worship  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
seal,  at  Princeton,  this  23d  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1834,  an(J  in  the  second  year  of  my  consecration, 

G.  W.  Doane, 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New  Jersey. 

The  old  Church  was  an  oblong  stone  building,  rough  cast,  and 
standing  with  gable  ends  toward  the  streets  which  bounded  the  church 
lot.  It  occupied  part  of  the  site  of  the  present  church  and  its  front 
was  toward  Mercer  Street.  Its  architecture  was  of  Grecian  type, 
and  it  had  a  prostyle  portico  with  a  row  of  six  fluted  columns  made 
of  wood  supporting  the  roof  and  resting  on  the  porch  floor.  Up  to 
this  floor  led  a  flight  of  seven  steps,  there  being  a  basement  in  the 
building  mostly  above  ground,  which  was  used  for  Sunday  School, 
and  other  purposes.  The  front  door  opened  into  a  vestibule  from 
which  stairs  ascended  to  the  organ  loft  and  to  each  of  the  galleries 
of  the  edifice.  The  woodwork  of  the  interior  was  painted  white,  and 
there  were  inside  blinds  in  the  window  openings  throughout  the  build- 
ing. There  were  two  floor-aisles  giving  entrance  to  the  pews  on 
either  side ;  and  the  two  front  pews  next  to  the  church  wall  were 
double,  like  those  in  some  of  the  Colonial  churches  of"  the  Diocese. 
When  the  present  Rectorship  began,  these  pews  were  assigned  to 
Com.  R.  F.  Stockton,  Mrs.  Thomas  Potter,  the  Hon.  John  R.  Thom- 
son and  the  Hon.  Richard  S.  Field.  The  pulpit  and  communion  table 
were  of  white  marble,  and  the  lectern  was  a  marble  cross  with  a  Bible 
rest  securely  fastened  on  its  transverse  arms.  This  marble  cross,  the 
gift  of  Mrs.  Thomson,  is  now  in  our  village  cemetery,  and  marks  the 
resting  place  of  a  former  Vestryman,  Captain  Edward  Veyer. 

It  cannot  be  learned  what  clergy  officiated  in  Princeton  between  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  church  and  the  settlement  of  its  first 
Rector.  One  of  the  oldest  residents  of  Princeton  says  that  among  the 
number  was  a  Rev.  Mr.  Eastman,  secured  by  the  Vestry  to  minister 
occasionally  to  the  little  flock.  The  services  were  probably  held  in 
the  parlours  of  Prospect  and  Morven.  On  December  17,  following  the 
consecration,  Bishop  Doane  again  visited  Princeton,  and  preached,  and 


M 

confirmed  three  persons.  The  names  of  those  who  first  knelt  in  this 
Parish  to  receive  the  laying  on  of  hands  were  Charles  Steadman, 
Thomas  Young,  and  John  Manning  Runyon. 

On  the  day  after,  the  Bishop  instituted  as  the  first  Rector  of  the 
Parish 

The  Rev.  George  Emlen  Hare, 

who  had  recently  been  invited  to  assume  its  pastoral  care' and  had 
removed  to  Princeton,  and  was  living  with  his  family  in  the  house  which 
is  now  the  Presbyterian  Parsonage,  on  Library  Place.  Bishop  Clark  in 
his  Reminiscences  makes  the  following  reference  to  Dr.  Hare's  early 
ministry:  "The  late  Rev.  Professor  Hare,  the  father  of  Bishop  Hare, 
was  the  first  pastor  of  the  church,  and  as  there  was  no  afternoon  ser- 
vice in  the  Seminary  Chapel,  some  of  us  formed  the  habit  of  attending 
the  new  church,  where  the  simplicity  of  the  service,  and  the  liberal 
fervor  of  the  preacher  combined  to  impress  us  very  favorably." 

Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  building,  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  the  Borough  was  destroyed  by  fire.  This  was  the  occasion 
of  the  following  courteous  action  on  the  part  of  the  Vestry : 

At  a  meeting  held  on  July  7  1835  it  was  Resolved,  That 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Hare,  Messrs  John  Potter  and  Richard  S.  Field 
be  a  committee  to  express  on  behalf  of  the  Rector,  Wardens 
and  Vestrymen  of  Trinity  Church  their  deep  condolence  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  place  for  the  calamity  which 
has  so  recently  befallen  them,  in  the  destruction  of  their  church 
by  fire,  and  to  tender  to  them  the  use  of  Trinity  Church  for  the 
purpose  of  public  worship. 

R.  S.  Field,  Secy. 

The  records  show  that  the  ministry  of  Dr.  Hare,  lasting  for  the 
space  of  eight  years  and  a  half,  was  most  judicious  and  efficient,  and 
resulted  in  the  ingathering  of  a  goodly  number  of  people,  whom  the 
Lord  added  to  the  church,  among  them  who  should  be  saved.  Finding 
a  little  band  of  eleven  communicants  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry, 
he  closed  his  work  with  this  number  swelled  to  fifty-one.  The  names 
of  the  original  communicants,  as  registered  by  Dr.  Hare,  are  as  follows : 
Mr.  John  Potter,  Mrs.  Catharine  Potter,  Mrs.  Harriet  Maria  Stock- 
ton, Mr.  Charles  Steadman,  Mr.  John  Manning  Runyon,  Mr.  C.  W. 
Taylor,  Mrs.  Taylor,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Smith,  Mr.  John  Barnwell  Camp- 
bell, Mr.  Thomas  Milette,  Mrs.  Milette.  In  an  address  made  on  the  50th 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  Parish,  the  Rector  said : 

"I  have  been  unable  to  learn  that  any  of  this  number  still 
survive.  Two,  however,  who  were  added  to  it  a  few  years 
after,  are  still  with  us  and  kneel  with  us  from  time  to  time  at 
the  Table  of  the  Lord.     Leading  the  list  of  our  communicants 


15 

and  linking  us  to  the  original  band,  are  the  names  of  Mrs. 
Sarah  Perrine  and  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Thomas. 

"Among  the  parochial  agencies  set  in  operation  by  Dr.  Hare 
was  the  Parish  School,  which  was  first  held  in  the  basement 
of  the  old  church  and  afterwards  supplied  with  a  building 
suited  to   its   needs. 

"  'The  little  children  from  it,'  says  the  Bishop,  that  were  brought 
up  to  the  catechizing,  some  of  whom  could  scarcely  lisp  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  were  most  attractive  to  my  eye  and  heart. 
Surely,  upon  such  a  work  of  love  the  Saviour  smiles.  Vain 
is  the  hope  to  propagate  the  Gospel  that  begins  not  thus. 
'Whom  shall  He  teach  knowledge?'  says  Isaiah,  'And  whom 
shall  He  make  to  understand  doctrine?  Them  that  are  weaned 
from  the  milk  and  drawn  from  the  breasts.'  And  it  will  not  do 
to  trust  to  Sunday  teaching.  For  'precept  must  be  upon  precept, 
line  upon  line,  here  a  little  and  there  a  little.'  Let  every  Parish 
do  what  this  is  doing;  let  all  the  week-day  influences,  instead 
of  running  counter  to  the  spirit  of  the  Holy  Day,  tend  to 
confirm  its  lessons  and  deepen  its  impressions.  It  will  then  be 
seen  and  felt  that  the  gospel  is  for  practice,  not  for  pro- 
fession. It  will  then  be  seen  and  felt  that  Christianity  is  a  life 
to  live,  and  not  a  lesson  to  be  learned.  It  is  when  all  our  chil- 
dren shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord  that  great  shall  be  the  peace 
of  our  beloved  land.  A  Christian  nation  can  only  be  made  by 
Christian  education.' 

In  addition  to  his  parochial  labors,  Dr.  Hare  occasionally 
visited  Rocky  Hill,  held  service  and  preached  and  thus  began 
the  missionary  effort  which  in  after  years  resulted  in  the  for- 
mation of  a  Parish  in  that  interesting  village." 

In  the  year  1840  the  Parish  met  with  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Smith  Olden,  an  earnest  Christian  and  a  loyal  and  de- 
voted churchman.  The  provisions  of  his  will  attest  the  sincerity  of 
his  devotion  to  the  church.  His  charitable  bequests  were  as  follows : — 
To  Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  towards  the  erection  of  a  parsonage,  five 
hundred  dollars ;  for  the  Parochial  School  of  the  same  Parish  four 
hundred  dollars  ;  for  the  Sunday  School,  one  hundred  dollars  ;  to  the 
Missions  under  the  superintendance  of  Bishops  Kemper  and  Polk,  six 
thousand  dollars ;  to  the  Convention  of  this  Diocese,  for  the  support 
of  a  traveling  missionary,  eight  thousand  dollars,  the  interest  alone  to 
be  appropriated — amounting  altogether  to  about  fifteen  thousand 
dollars.  The  Olden  Legacy  is  still  preserved  to  the  Diocese,  and  its 
income  is  appropriated  to  the  maintenance  of  missionary  work  in  "the 
Pines,"  a  region  in  which  the  excellent  donor  had  become  much  inter- 
ested before  his  death. 

During  Dr.  Hare's  rectorship  some  changes  were  made  in  the 
arrangements  of  the  chancel  of  the  church,  to  which  Bishop  Doane 
made  the  following  allusion  :  "On  Saturday,  St.  Mark's  Day,  in  Trinity 
Church,  Princeton,  after  morning  prayers,  I  preached  the  sermon  before 
the    Southern    Convocation,   and    administered   the    Holy    Communion, 


i6 

assisted  by  the  Rector,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hare.  In  the  afternoon  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Stubbs  read  prayers,  and  the  children  were  catechised  by  the 
Rector  and  examined  by  me.  ...  I  must  presume  to  express  my 
approbation  of  the  changes  which  have  been  made  since  my  last  visit, 
in  this  beautiful  church.  Heretofore  in  this,  as  in  too  many  of  our 
churches,  the  solemnity  of  our  most  solemn  services  has  been  greatly 
hindered  by  the  narrowness  of  the  chancel.  The  removal  of  the  desk 
has  obviated  this  entirely.  The  sacrifice  of  prayer  is  appropriately 
offered  from  the  altar.  A  beautiful  reading  stand  commodiously  sup- 
ports the  Bible  for  the  lessons.  A  new  railing  for  the  chancel,  and 
hangings  of  the  richest  and  most  costly  texture,  attest  the  conviction  of 
some,  whom  God  has  made  His  stewards,  that  it  is  an  honorable  thing 
to  honor  God.  The  effect  of  this  change  has  led  me  to  think  that  it 
might  be  carried  still  further  to  advantage.  For  what  does  the  pulpit 
in  most  of  our  churches  serve,  but  to  set  the  preacher  at  the  greatest 
disadvantage  with  the  people  over  whose  heads  he  is  thus  elevated? 
For  what  is  a  pulpit  needed  more  than  a  desk?  Why  not  remove  the 
holy  table  back,  and  set  it  up  a  step  or  two  on  a  broad  platform,  with 
the  chancel  space  before  it?  Then  as  the  prayers  are  offered  from  the 
Altar,  why  not  let  the  sermon  be  delivered  from  the  reading  stand  at 
which  the  lessons  are  read?  Why  should  human  exposition  be  elevated 
above  the  word  of  God?  Certainly  in  our  smaller  churches,  where 
room  for  the  chancel  is  with  so  much  difficulty  obtained,  the  plan  may 
be  adopted  to  the  very  best  advantage." 

Later  on,  this  suggestion  of  Bishop  Doane  was  complied  with,  but 
when,  still  later,  a  costly  marble  pulpit  was  presented,  the  corporation 
determined  that  "the  Pulpit  and  Communion  Table  should  be  restored 
to  their  old  position,  viz.,  the  Pulpit  in  the  centre  of  the  chancel — in  the 
rear — ,  and  the  Communion  Table  directly  in  front,"  the  smallness  of 
the  chancel  not  admitting  of  a  more  churchly  arrangement. 

The  Parish,  however,  was  among  the  first  to  restore  the  ancient  use 
of  the  Surplice  in  the  Pulpit,  instead  of  the  academic  gown.  In  the  last 
reference  to  the  parish  in  Bishop  Doane's  journal  during  the  rectorship 
of  Dr.  Hare,  occurs  the  following  statement : 

"The  Rector  of  this  Parish  has  discontinued  the  use  of  the  gown, 
and  uses  the  surplice  in  preaching  as  well  as  in  all  the  services.  He  has 
done  this  with  my  full  approbation,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  the  prac- 
tice adopted  throughout  the  diocese." 

In  November  of  1843  the  Parish  became  vacant  by  the  resignation 
of  Dr.  Hare.  The  services  during  the  following  winter  were  supplied 
in  succession,  at  the  request  of  the  Bishop,  by  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished clergy  of  the  church,  and  "their  clear,  full,  manly,  and  work- 
manlike presentation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  Church  won  for  Catholic  truth 
a  fervent  acceptation."     Among  these  clergy  were  the  Reverend  Drs. 


17 

Forbes,  Higbee,  Seabury,  Haight,  Wainwright  and  Odenheimer.  Dr. 
Wainwright  afterwards  became  Bishop  of  New  York,  and  Dr.  Oden- 
heimer Bishop  of  New  Jersey. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry  in  1843,  Mr.  John  Potter  was  appointed 
as  a  committee  of  one  to  secure  the  erection  of  a  parsonage,  and  was 
authorized  by  resolution  to  borrow  for  the  purpose  any  sum  not  exceed- 
ing five  thousand  dollars,  and  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  same  by 
mortgage  on  the  premises.  Mr.  Potter  proceeded  at  once  with  the 
building  of  the  rectory, 'but  borrowed  only  from  his  own  purse,  and  not 
hoping  to  receive  again.     Says  the  Bishop's  Journal : 

"The  generous  heart,  whose  promptings  from  the  Lord  led 
to  the  planting  of  this  church,  is  more  devoted  now  than  ever 
to  its  interests ;  and  within  the  year  has  erected  a  parsonage 
house  inferior  to  none  that  I  have  seen  in  all  the  land.  This  is 
a  wise  and  skillful  liberality.  Princeton  is  no  ordinary  place. 
There  is  no  point  in  the  whole  country  where  the  just  influence 
of  the  church  will  tell  with  such  effect ;  as  there  is  no  point  at 
which,  to  tell  it  all,  it  is  more  needful  that  the  system  stand  out 
clear  and  full  in  its  integrity  and  beauty." 

The  gift  of  the  Rectory  was  soon  followed  by  the  liberal  benefac- 
tion by  which  the  church  was  endowed.  At  the  Vestry  meeting  in 
September,  1844,  a  communication  was  received  from  Mr.  John  Potter, 
stating  that  he,  James  Potter,  Robert  Field  Stockton  and  Thomas 
Fuller  Potter  had  subscribed  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  as  a 
permanent  fund  toward  the  maintenance  of  Trinity  Parish,  Princeton, 
so  long  as  it  continues  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and  no  other : 
the  capital  sum  to  be  left  entire  and  the  interest  to  be  applied  to  the 
support  of  the  church. 

With  respect  to  this  endowment,  Bishop  Doane  uses  the  following 
words  : 

"John  Potter,  Esq.,  besides  other  liberal  gifts  to  this  parish, 
has  recently  presented  it  with  a  noble  parsonage  house  and 
grounds,  and  endowed  it  in  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Why  are  there  not  more  of  our  rich  men  who  thus  fulfil  their 
stewardship  for  Christ  ?  Surely  they  do  not  remember  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  'It  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive.'  Surely  it  is  better  to  see  the  Lord's  work 
spread  with  living  gifts,  twice  blessed,  than  merely  to  leave  that 
to  the  church  which  we  can  use  no  more.  I  cannot  refrain 
from  adding  in  this  connection  the  apt  words  of  Lord  Bacon : 
'Defer  not  charities  until  death,  for  certainly,  if  a  man  weigh 
it  rightly,  he  that  doth  so  is  rather  liberal  of  another  man's 
than  his  own.' " 

The  minutes  of  the  Vestry  contain  the  following  communication 
relating  to  this  endowment : 


i8 

"Communication  from  Mr.  John  Potter  read  by  Capt. 
Stockton, 

"The  Subscribers  under  the  blessings  of  Almighty  God  and 
His  Divine  Providence  (viz:  John  Potter,  James  Potter,  Rob- 
ert Field  Stockton,  and  Thomas  Fuller  Potter)  have  been  de- 
sirous to  promote  the  fiscal  concerns  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  incorporated  under  the 
name  and  title  of  Trinity  Church  and  as  it  seemed  necessary 
to  raise  a  permanent  fund  towards  the  maintenance  of  said 
Church  whilst  it  continues  as  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
and  no  other ;  we  have  subscribed  to  said  permanent  fund,  Ten 
thousand  dollars  the  interest  on  which  as  received  half  yearly 
to  go  for  this  purpose,  but  the  capital  sum  of  Ten  thousand 
dollars  to  be  left  entire,  to  be  invested  and  reinvested  in  some 
secure  stock  forever  under  the  direction  of  the  Vestry  and  War- 
dens, and  their  successors  in  office  duly  appointed  thereafter 
according  to  the  tenure  of  this  endowment. 

"But  should  in  after  time,  this  Church  become  sectarian  in 
doctrine,  and  separate  and  different  from  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  of  the  United  States,  as  now  established,  then  in 
that  case  this  subscribed  fund  of  Ten  thousand  dollars  so  en- 
dowed as  a  permanent  fund  shall  be  forfeited  and  given  up 
forever  after  and  the  capital  sum  thus  subscribed,  shall  wholly 
and  altogether  revert  back  to  the  subscribers  in  equal  portions 
their  heirs,  executors  or  assigns  forever  after. 

"The  fund  now  subscribed,  is  placed  in  Ten  bonds  of  One- 
thousand  dollars  each  of  the  joint  capital  of  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal  and  Camden  and  Amboy  Rail  Road  and  Trans- 
portation Companies,  payable  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four,  interest  at  six  per 
cent  per  annum  half  yearly  viz :  Half  on  the  first  of  March 
and  half  on  the  first  of  September  in  each  year  by  half  yearly 
Coupons  attached  thereto." 

Also  the  following  Preamble  and  Resolutions  of  the  Vestry : 

"Whereas  John  Potter,  James  Potter,  Robert  F.  Stockton 
and  Thomas  F.  Potter,  did  by  an  instrument  in  writing  under 
their  hands,  bearing  date  the  second  day  of  September  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  One  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-four 
subscribe  the  sum  of  Ten  thousand  dollars  as  a  Permanent 
Fund,  the  interest  of  which  is  to  be  applied  half  yearly  to  the 
maintenance  and  support  of  Trinity  Church  in  the  Borough  of 
Princeton  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  as  long  as  the  same  shall 
continue  to  be  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  now  therefore: 

"Resolved  that  the  Wardens  and  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church 
Princeton,  do  hereby  gratefully  accept  the  liberal  endowment 
which  has  been  thus  generously  made,  and  that  in  consideration 
thereof  the  said  John  Potter,  James  Potter,  Robert  F.  Stock- 
ton and  Thomas  F.  Potter  be  and  they  are  hereby  exempted 
and  discharged  from  all  contributions  and  assessments  that 
may  at  any  time  hereafter  be  levied  or  made  for  the  support 
and  maintenance  of  said  Church  and  that  the  Pews  now  occu- 
pied by  the  said  donors  respectively,  to  wit — Pew  Xo.  I.  occu- 
pied by  John  Potter,  Petes  No.  2  and  3  occupied  by  Robert  F. 
Stockton,  Pew  No.  24,  occupied  by  James  Potter  and  Pezv  No. 


19 

27,  occupied  by  Thomas  Potter,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby- 
appropriated  exclusively  to  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  said 
donors  respectively  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  free  and 
discharged  from  the  payment  of  all  rents  or  assessments  what- 
ever." 


Chapter  II 
From  1844  to  1866 

At  a  Vestry  meeting  held  in  August,  1844,  it  was  unanimously- 
resolved  : 

"That  the  Rev.  Gordon  Winslow  of  Tompkinsville  New 
York  be  invited  to  the  vacant  Rectorship  of  this  Church  with 
a  yearly  salary  of  One  Thousand  Dollars,  and  the  use  of  the 
Parsonage  House." 

A  copy  of  this  resolution,  together  with  a  letter  of  invitation,  was 
sent  to  Mr.  Winslow :  but  after  careful  consideration  he  courteously 
"declined  the  proposals  which  the  kind  favor  of  the  Vestry  had  pre- 
ferred." A  similar  invitation  was  then  given  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Yarnall 
of  Philadelphia,  but  he  also  felt  obliged  to  remain  at  the  post  of  duty 
where  he  had  been  placed,  and  so  to  decline  the  call  of  the  Vestry.  He 
says  in  his  letter :  "I  am  fully  aware  of  the  many  personal  advantages 
which  a  residence  in  Princeton  would  afford — but  I  do  not  see  how  I 
could  with  honor  leave  my  present  parish,  after  so  short  a  settlement 
in  it." 

Soon  after,  the  Vestry  called 

The  Rev.  Andrew  Bell  Paterson,  D.D., 

to  the  Rectorship  of  the  Parish,  and  he  made  known  to  them  his  wil- 
lingness to  accept  the  office,  and  was  soon  settled  in  the  discharge  of  its 
duties.  He  was  instituted  by  Bishop  Doane  on  December  2  in  the 
year  1844. 

To  the  fulfillment  of  his  office  Dr.  Paterson  brought  many  excel- 
lent gifts,  and  the  Parish  work  in  all  its  branches  prospered  in  his 
hands.  He  was  persona  grata  to  the  people  generally,  and  easily  won 
the  confidence  of  the  young.  During  his  rectorship,  special  mention 
was  made  in  the  Convention  Journals  of  the  attendance  of  the  students 
upon  the  services  of  the  Church.  "I  was  glad,"  says  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese,  "to  see  at  the  service  here  several  of  my  young  sons  in  the 
church  who  are  students  of  Princeton  College.  The  neighborhood  of 
this  flourishing  institution  gives  a  peculiar  interest  to  the  pastoral  care 
of  Trinity  Church,  and  I  am  glad  to  know  that  the  parsonage  is  made 
a  pleasant  home  to  the  young  churchmen  of  the  college." 

Some  years  ago,  Bishop  Littlejohn,  of  Long  Island,  while  sitting  in 
the  study  of  the  Rector,  pointed  out  the  shelf  from  which  Dr.  Paterson 
took  the  book  which  first  turned  his  attention  to  the  claims   of  the 


Episcopal  Church ;  and  he  made  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  influ- 
ence which  Dr.  Paterson  had  exerted  on  his  character,  and  course 
of  life. 

The  recollection  of  the  efficient  work  done  by  Dr.  Paterson  and  his 
most  amiable  and  cultured  wife  still  lingers  in  the  Parish,  and,  though 
"they  rest  from  their  labours,  their  works  do  follow  them."  A  consid- 
erable impetus  was  given  to  the  work  of  the  Parish  School  during  the 
incumbency  of  Dr.  Paterson.  The  basement  of  the  church  became  too 
strait  for  it,  and  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  erect  a  suitable  building 
for  the  school.  Mr.  Richard  Stockton  offered  an  eligible  lot  for  the 
building,  and  soon  after,  by  the  munificence  of  four  gentlemen,  and 
chiefly  by  that  of  Mr.  James  Potter,  the  school  house  was-  erected,  at 
the  cost  of  thirty-five  hundred  dollars.  In  the  tower  of  the  building 
the  congregation  placed  a  bell  of  twelve  hundred  weight.  The  school 
was  supported  by  a  fund  of  five  hundred  dollars,  subscribed  mostly  by 
the  congregation.  A  free  Parish  school  for  colored  children  was  also 
opened,  and  a  teacher  supported  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  dollars. 

It  was  during  Dr.  Paterson's  incumbency  that  Mr.  John  Potter  pre- 
sented to  the  Parish  a  plot  of  ground  of  considerable  size,  adjoining  the 
church,  to  be  used  as  a  public  cemetery.  Mr.  Potter  had  greatly  desired 
that  the  Parish  should  have  its  own  burial  ground,  and  that  the  privi- 
lege of  its  use  should  not  be  restricted  to  the  families  on  the  Parish  list. 
At  a  meeting  on  July  6th,  1846,  Mr.  Potter  sent  a  lengthy  communica- 
tion on  the  subject  to  the  Vestry  of  the  church,  and  on  motion  of 
Richard  S.  Field,  Esq.,  it  was  resolved:  "That  the  lot  adjoining  the 
church  offered  by  John  Potter  Esqr  be  very  gratefully  accepted."  A 
year  later,  at  another  meeting,  the  following  communication  from  the 
Borough  Council  of  Princeton  was  laid  before  the  Vestry : 

"Rev.  A.  B.  Paterson 
"Dear  Sir 

"I  am  directed  by  the  Borough  Council  to  notify  the 
Wardens  and  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church  through  you  their 
Rector,  that  a  complaint  from  Daniel  Bowne  has  been  laid 
before  them,  detailing  the  injury  he  has  received  from  an  ap- 
propriation of  a  part  of  the  church  lot  as  a  burial  ground,  and 
praying  relief  that  it  may  not  in  future  be  used  as  such.  The 
Council,  in  answer  to  the  petition  have  adjourned  to  meet  on 
Monday  23d  inst  at  3  o'clock  p.  m.  to  hear  the  petitioner,  at 
which  time  and  place  the  Wardens  and  Vestry  will  also  be 
heard  if  it  is  their  pleasure  to  appear. 

"Abm.  Stryker 

"Clerk  of  Council." 

Accompanying  this  notice  was  a  letter  from  John  F.  Hageman,  attorney 
for  Daniel  Boone,  which  was  also  read  to  the  Vestry:    Whereupon 

"On  motion  of  R.  S.  Field  Esq.  it  was  resolved  That  the  Vestry 
reconvey  to  John  Potter  Esq.  the  lot  of  land  presented  by  him 


for  a  cemetery,  and  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  with 
full  powers  to  treat  with  the  Common  Council  concerning  the 
same.  Mess  R.  S.  Field,  Charles  Olden  and  L.  P.  Smith  were 
appointed  said  committee." 

In  consequence  of  this  action,  Mr.  Potter  abandoned  the  project 
of  a  public  burying  ground  connected  with  the  church,  and  contented 
himself  with  reserving  a  portion  of  the  lot  intended  for  this  purpose 
for  the  interment  of  his  own  family.  This  adjoins  the  chancel  of  the 
present  church,  and  in  it  Mr.  Potter  and  a  number  of  his  descendants 
and  kindred  have  been  laid  to  rest. 

Another  action  of  the  Vestry  during  the  Rectorship  of  Dr.  Pater- 
son  was  the  sale  and  conveyance  to  R.  S.  Field,  Esq.,  of  the  triangular 
lot  on  which  the  stone  building  on  Mercer  Street,  at  the  head  of  Alex- 
ander Street,  now  stands.  This  building  was  erected  by  R.  S.  Field, 
Esq.,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  professors  of  the  Law  Department 
of  Princeton  College :  and  after  the  discontinuance  of  the  Law  School 
in  1855,  it  was  used  for  the  offices  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Joint 
Companies.  Later  on  it  was  the  seat  of  the  first  of.  the  University 
clubs — Ivy  Hall —  and  from  it  the  whole  club  system  of  the  University 
took  its  rise.  It  is  now  the  seat  of  a  library  maintained  by  the  ladies 
of  Princeton.  The  lot  and  building  have  recently  come  into  the 
possession  of  the  Parish. 

In  his  Convention  Report  for  the  year  1849  Dr.  Paterson  mentions 
an  event  which  he  deeply  mourns.  "In  the  past  year"  (1849),  he  says, 
"John  Potter  has  been  gathered  to  his  fathers.  To  him,  humanly  speak- 
ing, the  Church  in  this  place  owes  its  existence.  His  offerings  to  God 
for  its  benefit  and  prosperity  were  large  and  numerous.  His  last  gift 
was  a  new  organ,  which  he  ordered  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  but 
whose  sweet  sounds  he  was  not  permitted  to  hear.  His  wife,  Mrs. 
Catherine  Potter,  had  been  called  to  her  rest  a  little  less  than  a  year 
before."  One  other  death  during  Dr.  Paterson's  rectorship  must  be 
mentioned,  viz.,  that  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Jones  Potter,  wife  of  Mr.  James 
Potter,  who  fell  on  sleep  June  4th,  1847.  She  left  an  inheritance  of 
righteousness  to  her  children,  and  they  arise  and  call  her  blessed. 

Dr.  Paterson  resigned  the  rectorship  of  the  Parish  on  the  6th  of 
October,  1851.  On  May  3  of  the  following  year  it  was  given  into 
the  hands  of 

The  Rev.  Joshua  Peterkin, 

1 
of  the  Diocese  of  Virginia.  After  his  acceptance  of  the  call  the  Vestry 
appropriated  $500  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  removal  to  the  Parish. 
His  ministry  in  Princeton  was  brief,  lasting  less  than  three  years.  Few 
records  are  left  us  of  the  parochial  events  of  this  period,  but  the  re- 
membrance of  Dr.   Peterkin's  gentle   Christian   character  and   faithful 


23 

Christian  work  will  not  easily  be  effaced  from  the  memory  of  some 
who  are  here  to-day.  The  most  excellent  Bishop  of  West  Virginia, 
the  Rev.  George  W.  Peterkin,  D.D.,  is  his  son,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
know  that  he  was  once  an  inmate  of  the  present  Rectory.  At  the  resig- 
nation of  the  father  the  Vestry  passed  the  following  resolutions : 

"Resolved — That  it  is  with  the  deepest  regret  that  we  have 
received  the  communication  of  the  Reverend  Joshua  Peterkin 
tendering  his  resignation  of  the  Rectorship  of  this  Parish. 

"Resolved — That  reluctant  as  we  are  to  part  with  our 
beloved  Rector,  yet  the  reasons  which  he  assigns  in  his  letter 
of  resignation  are  of  such  a  nature  that  we  do  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  decline  the  acceptance  of  it. 

"Resolved — That  we  desire  to  express  in  the  strongest 
terms  our  deep  sense  of  the  zeal  and  faithfulness  with  which 
he  has  discharged  his  ministerial  duties  during  "his  connection 
with  this  Parish— of  the  success  with  which  his  labours  have 
been  attended — of  the  purity  and  truth  of  the  doctrines  which 
he  has  uniformly  taught — and  of  the  beautiful  consistency  of 
his  life  and  conduct." 

At  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  Parish  the 
Rector  stated  that  he  had  received  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Peterkin 
regretting  his  inability  to  be  with  us,  and  conveying  the  assurance  of 
his  continued  interest  in  our  welfare.  He  says :  "I  retain  the  most 
sincere  affection  for  the  members  of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton.  Many, 
indeed,  whom  I  loved,  are  no  longer  there;  but  I  pray  that  God's  richest 
blessing  may  rest  upon  those  that  remain,  and  upon  you,  my  dear 
brother,  their  pastor  and  guide." 

May  we  not  suppose  that  among  those  "no  longer  here,"  whom 
this  true  shepherd  had  in  his  mind,  are  the  esteemed  parishioners  who 
died  while  he  was  tending  the  flock,  and  whose  mortal  bodies  he  com- 
mitted to  the  ground? 

Among  these  we  find  the  names  of  Mrs.  Mary  Field,  the  wife  of 
the  Hon.  Richard  S.  Field,  who  died  September  6,  1852.  Mrs.  Field 
was  confirmed  in  the  first  years  of  the  rectorship  of  Dr.  Hare,  and  was 
devotedly  attached  to  the  church  throughout  her  life.  The  following 
notice  of  her,  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  appeared  in 
the  Princeton  paper,  along  with  the  announcement  of  her  death: 

"In  recording  the  death  of  this  lovely  and  excellent  woman 
words  fail  to  express  the  feelings  of  grief  with  which  our  whole 
community  are  overwhelmed  by  this  distressing  bereavement. 
As  wife,  mother,  friend,  in  every  relation  of  life,  her  virtues 
and  devotion  were  of  the  most  exemplary  character.  Possessed 
of  a  vigorous  mind,  a  warm  and  affectionate  heart,  and  of  the 
most  elevated  principles  and  sentiments  of  Christianity,  she  was 
always  doing  good  to  her  fellow-beings,  and  exhibited  in  all 
her  relations  to  society  that  charity,  disinterestedness  and  sense 
of  future  accountability  which  rendered  the  close  of  her  exist- 
ence one  of  triumph   in   the   doctrines   and  principles   she   had 


24 

professed  and  acted  on  through  life.  To  the  large  circle  of  her 
relatives  and  friends,  her  loss  is  irreparable.  The  poor  and 
afflicted  in  our  borough  (in  the  alleviation  of  whose  wants  and 
sufferings  she  was  always  so  prompt  and  efficient)  will  indeed 
lose  in  her  a  friend  and  benefactor.  But  their  loss  is  her  gain, 
for  she  has  gone  to  reap  the  rich  reward  of  those,  who  have  in 
their  life  fought  the  good  fight,  who  have  kept  the  faith,  and 
for  whom  the  rich  promises  of  the  gospel  will  assuredly  be 
fulfilled  in  another  and  a  better  world." 

Another  death  in  Dr.  Peterkin's  time  was  that  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Fuller  Potter,  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  John  Potter,  and  like  his 
father,  a  steadfast  friend  and  generous  benefactor  of  the  Parish.  He 
died  at  Prospect,  the  princely  family  seat,  on  September  27,  1853. 

At  the  same  Vestry  meeting  which  acted  on  the  resignation  of 
Doctor  Peterkin, 

The  Rev.  Wm.  D.  Hanson, 

of  the  Diocese  of  Virginia,  was  elected  Rector  of  the  Parish  and  Mr. 
Richard  Stockton  was  authorized  to  write  to  the  gentleman,  and 
request  his  acceptance  of  the  office. 

Mr.  Stockton  received  the  following  reply : 

"University  of  Va 
"Feb  14th  1855 
"Richard  Stockton  Esqr 
"My  dear  Sir 

"The  design  of  Providence  seems  plain  that  Princeton 
shall  be  the  field  of  my  future  labors.  With  some  trepidation 
on  several  accounts,  I  shall  enter  upon  my  work  there ;  but  I 
look  for  indulgence,  sympathy  and  cooperation  from  those  who 
are  to  be  my  people,  and  for  the  guidance  and  blessing  of 
heaven.  There  are  many  pleasant  associations  now  connecting 
me  with  Princeton,  which  I  trust  will  in  time  become  greatly 
strengthened  and  multiplied.  It  will  be  a  relief  to  me  to  know, 
that  by  your  transient  supplies  from  Philadelphia  and  else- 
where you  will  not  suffer  from  my  unavoidable  lack  of  service. 
Please  lay  this  letter  before  your  Vestry,  and  believe  me, 

"Your  friend  &  servant, 

"W.  D.   Hanson." 

Mr.  Hanson  did  not  reach  Princeton  till  late  in  March ;  and  at  a  Vestry 
meeting  on  the  24th  of  that  month,  it  was  resolved  "that  two  of  the 
Vestrymen  be  appointed  to  act  at  the  ceremony  of  his  institution. 
Messrs.  Charles  Stedman  and  Richard  Stockton  were  designated  for 
this  duty.  The  parochial  reports  during  Mr.  Hanson's  rectorship  add 
little  of  interest  to  the  Parish  annals.  They  are  simply  a  record  of 
quiet,  faithful  work  and  of  steady,  solid  growth.  It  often  happens  that 
events  which  are  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  writer  of  Church 
History  are,  in  reality,  of  the  least  importance  to  the  progress  of  the 
Kingdom.    The  occurrences  which  strike  his  eye  may  indeed  be  of  the 


nature  of  impediments  to  progress,  which  is  carried  on  in  spite  of, 
rather  than  in  consequence  of  the  events  which  fill  his  page.  And  so  the 
record  which  a  Pastor  may  most  desire  for  his  work  may  be  that  the 
Kingdom  in  his  day  "came  not  with  observation." — "The  seed  sprang 
up  secretly,  and  grew  day  and  night,  he  knows  not  how." 

Among  the  deaths  occurring  during  Mr.  Hanson's  rectorship  was 
that  of  Mrs.  Caroline  Bayard  Stockton,  the  wife  of  Mr.  Richard 
Stockton,  whose  name  was  added  to  our  Parish  diptychs  March  25, 
1859,  and  that  of  Mrs.  Caroline  Craig,  whose  Christian  character, 
moulded  by  the  influence  of  the  Church,  is  still  spoken  of  by  those  who 
knew  her. 

Mr.  Hanson  resigned  the  Rectorship  on  September  7,  1859.  His 
letter  of  resignation  is  as  follows : 

"To  the  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church. 
"Gentlemen 

"Following  as  I  trust  the  leading  of  Providence,  I 
hereby  tender  my  resignation  of  this  Parish  to  take  effect  the 
first  of  October  next.  With  many  thanks  for  your  uniform 
kindness  to  me  and  mine ;  and  with  the  prayer  that  God  will 
•  soon  send  you,  for  your  Minister,  a  man  after  his  own  heart,  I 
remain  Faithfully  yours, 

"Wm.  D.  Hanson. 

The  Vestry  held  a  meeting  on  the  same  day  and  appointed  Messrs. 
R.  S.  Field  and  James  Potter  to  express  in  resolutions  the  feelings  of 
the  Vestry  in  parting  with  the  Rector.  Mr.  Field  reported  the  follow- 
ing, which  were  unanimously  adopted : 

"Resolved — That  we  cannot  regard  without  emotion  the 
severance  of  the  ties  which  have  for  some  years  bound  us  to 
our  beloved  Rector. 

"Resolved — That  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hanson,  by  the  ability,  zeal 
and  fidelity  with  which  he  has  during  the  whole  period  of  his 
connexion  with  the  Parish,  discharged  his  sacred  functions — by 
his  pure  and  blameless  life — by  his  modest  and  unobtrusive 
character — by  his  prudence — by  his  piety — by  his  devotion  to 
duty,  and  by  the  frank  but  inoffensive  manner  in  which  he  has 
always  given  utterance  to  his  sentiments — has  won  in  the 
highest  degree,  our  confidence  and  love,  and  has  furnished  an 
example  worthy  the  imitation  of  all  Christian  Pastors. 

"Resolved — That  to  the  new  and  more  extensive  field  of 
labor,  to  which  in  the  Providence  of  God,  he  is  ab6ut  to  be 
transferred,  our  warmest  wishes  for  the  health  and  happiness 
of  himself  and  family  attend  him ;  and  our  earnest  prayer  is, 
that  his  usefulness  may  be  commensurate  with  his  desire  to  do 


The  rectorship  of  the  Parish  was  next  committed  into  the  hands  of 
The  Rev.  Wm.  Armstrong  Dod,  D.D., 
who  was  called  by  the  Vestry  on   November  29,   1859,  and  instituted 


26 

by  Bishop  Odenheimer  on  the  ioth  of  May,  1861.  Dr.  Dod  was  some- 
time Lecturer  on  Architecture  in  Princeton  College,  and  for  several 
years  was  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  Borough. 
He  determined  to  seek  the  ministry  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  after 
receiving  orders,  gave  the  Parish  the  benefit  of  his  services  till  failing 
health  obliged  him  to  resign  his  rectorship.  His  wife  was  the  oldest 
daughter  of  Commodore  Robert  F.  Stockton,  and  he  lived,  while 
Rector,  in  the  house  built  by  the  Commodore  for  his  daughter,  and 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Hon.  Grover  Cleveland. 

Dr.  Dod  brought  to  his  work  a  wide  and  thorough  culture,  a  ripe 
Christian  experience,  and  an  ardent  love  for  the  church  at  whose 
altars,  in  middle  life,  he  began  to  serve.  During  his  rectorship  paro- 
chial activity  in  various  directions  was  considerably  stimulated,  and  the 
records  show  a  steady  increase  in  the  offerings  of  the  Parish,  and  in  the 
number  of  the  communicants.  With  the  efficient  aid  of  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam J.  Andrews,  sometime  an  assistant  in  the  Parish,  a  Sunday  School 
and  Sunday  night  service  were  sustained  at  Princeton  Basin,  which 
was  then  the  seat  of  a  much  more  numerous  population  than  at  present. 
A  week-day  school  was  also  started,  but  was  afterwards  abandoned, 
owing  to  the  decline  of  the  neighborhood,  in  consequence  of  the 
removal  of  the  depot  and  the  cessation  of  the  traffic  which  this 
occasioned. 

Trinity  Church,  Rocky  Hill,  with  one  hundred  sittings,  all  free, 
was  also  built  and  consecrated  during  this  rectorship,  and  after  the 
first  of  August,  1864,  the  whole  time  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Andrews  was 
devoted  to  its  care.  This  Church  was  built  by  Mr.  Henry  A.  Stone, 
who  died  in  France,  May  14,  1873.  The  tablets  on  its  chancel  walls 
are  from  old  St.  John's  Church,  Clifton,  Staten  Island.  The  marble 
font  is  the  gift  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Birdsall  Cornell,  of  Xew  York,  and 
commemorates  a  loved  daughter  buried  with  her  Lord  in  Baptism,  and 
awaiting  in  the  grave  the  likeness  of  His  resurrection. 

The  time  of  Dr.  Dod's  ministry  was  coincident  with  that  of  our 
Civil  War,  and  he  had  to  contend  not  only  with  the  general  unsettle- 
ment  and  distraction  of  the  times,  but  also  with  serious  diminution  in 
the  working  force  of  the  congregation  occasioned  by  detention  in  their 
Southern  homes  of  some  of  the  most  active  and  influential  of  his  parish- 
ioners. It  was  during  this  period  of  non-intercourse  between  the 
Xorth  and  the  South  that  the  Parish  lost  one  of  its  truest  friends  and 
most  liberal  supporters  in  the  death  of  Mr.  James  Potter,  who  departed 
this  life  on  January  25,  1862.  His  name  is  commemorated  on  a  tablet 
in  the  Church.  May  the  good  Lord  "remember  him  concerning  all  his 
generous  work,  and  wipe  not  out  the  good  deeds  which  he  has  done  for 
the  House  of  God  and  for  the  offices  thereof." 
Soon  after  his  decease  the  children  of  Mr.  Potter,  meeting  at  the  Xorth, 


27 

expressed  their  desire,  in  his  behalf,  to  pay  over  to  the  church  the  sum 
of  $5,000  to  be  held  in  trust  for  its  use.  The  Vestry  in  response  to  this 
offer  resolved  "That  we  will  thankfully  receive  the  sum,  and  ever  main- 
tain a  grateful  remembrance  of  the  memory  of  Mr.  Potter,  who,  most 
liberal  in  life,  has  in  death  been  equally  generous."  As  Mr.  Potter  had 
always  been  deeply  interested  in  the  Parish  School,  it  also  resolved 
"That  $150  of  the  interest  accruing  from  this  fund  be  appropriated 
yearly  to  the  income  of  the  Parish  School  teacher."  And  it  was  further 
resolved  "That  the  $5,000  above  mentioned,  shall  be  considered  an  offset 
to  any  claim  of  like  amount  which  may  be  left  this  Church  by  the  will 
of  Mr.  Potter,  or  to  any  claim  held  against  his  estate  by  the  treasurer." 

During  his  rectorship  Dr.  Dod  also  sustained  the  loss  of  Mrs. 
Harriet  Maria  Stockton,  of  whose  helpful  influence  in  the  first  years 
of  the  Parish  we  have  before  spoken.  Faithful  to  the  end,  she  died  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  1862.  A  little  later  the  Parish  household  was 
again  stricken  by  the  removal  of  the  Hon.  John  R.  Thomson,  who  had 
been  associated  with  the  Parish  from  its  foundation,  and  who  had 
always  shown  much  interest  in  its  welfare.  During  his  intervals  of  rest 
from  the  duties  of  the  Senate  Chamber  he  regularly  attended  the 
services  of  the  Church,  and  he  died  with  the  solace  of  its  ministrations 
on  the  twelfth  of  September,  1862.  The  words  upon  his  tomb  describe 
his  character :  "A  sound  statesman,  a  pure  patriot,  an  ardent  upholder 
of  the  constitution  of  his  country,  a  faithful  friend  and  an  humble 
Christian." 

In   the  year   1859  a  combined  effort  was   made  in  the   Diocese  to 

raise  a  fund  the  income  of  which  should  be  applied  to  the  support  of 

its    Bishop.      To    this    "Episcopal    Fund"    our    Parish    contributed    the 

tf    amount   of   $^,600:     a    sum    sufficient    to    relieve    the    Parish    from    all 

Convention  assessments  for  the  Bishop's  maintenance. 

At  the  division  of  the  Diocese  which  occurred  in  the  year  1874  the 
Episcopal  Fund  was  divided  between  the  two  jurisdictions  formed 
within  the  limits  of  the  State.  Three  Bishops  have  held  office  in  the 
Diocese  of  New  Jersey  within  the  period  covered  by  these  Records. 
Bishop  Doane  was  consecrated  on  October  31,  1832 — less  than  a  year 
before  the  formation  of  this  Parish — and  he  died  on  April  27,  1859. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Henry  Odenheimer,  D.D.,  who 
was  consecrated  on  October  13,  1859,  and  died  on  August  14,  1879. 
When  the  Diocese  was  divided  Bishop  Odenheimer  elected  as  his 
jurisdiction  the  new  Diocese,  afterwards  named  the  Diocese  of  Newark, 
which  he  served  faithfully  for  about  five  years.  On  his  resignation  of 
the  charge  of  the  old  Diocese  in  1874,  the  Rev.  John  Scarborough,  D.D., 
was  elected  as  his  successor,  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  in  St.  Mary's 
Church,  -Burlington,  N.  J.,  on  February  2,  1875.  For  thirty-three 
years   Bishop   Scarborough  has   devoted  himself  with  untiring  energy 


28 

to  the  interests  of  the  Diocese,  and  we  sincerely  hope  it  may  have  the 
benefit  of  his  abundant  labors  many  years  more. 

Owing  to  failing  health,  Dr.  Dod  felt  obliged  to  resign  the  rector- 
ship of  the  Parish  in  Lent  1866.  He  continued  to  reside  in  Princeton 
until  the  last  step  in  his  decline  and  until  his  darkness  was  lightened 
and  he  was  exalted  to  the  regions  of  eternal  day.  Many  will  recall  the 
solemn  service  with  which  we  bore  him  to  his  grave ;  and  many,  I  am 
sure,  often  visit  the  hallowed  spot  where  all  that  is  mortal  of  their 
beloved  Pastor  sleeps  in  peace  till  life's  eventide  be  passed. 


Chapter  III 
From  1866  to  1883 

The  present  Rectorship,  that  of  the  Rev.  Alfred  B.  Baker,  D.D., 
began  on  Easter  Day,  1866.  On  coming  to  Princeton,  almost  the  first 
thing  that  struck  the  Rector's  eye  was  the  blackened  ruin  of  the 
Rectory,  which  had  just  been  destroyed  by  an  accidental  fire.  Through 
the  generosity  of  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Potter  this  waste  was  at  once  repaired. 
The  Rectory  was  rebuilt,  and  made  in  all  respects  as  good  as  new. 
Soon  after  his  settlement  in  the  Parish  the  Rector  was  called  upon  to 
bury  its  Senior  Warden,  Mr.  William  L.  Rodgers,  who  died  peacefully 
in  his  residence  in  Princeton  and  was  interred  in  the  churchyard  in 
Bordentown,  N.  J.  Mr.  Rodgers  had  been  identified  for  many  years 
with  the  interests  of  the  Parish,  and  had  been  a  most  faithful  attendant 
at  its  services.  His  venerable  form  was  much  missed  by  the  congrega- 
tion long  after  his  entrance  into  rest.  The  following  minute  was 
adopted  by  the  Vestry  at  his  death : 

"Whereas,  It  has  pleased  our  Heavenly  Father  to  give  to 
our  late  associate,  William  L.  Rodgers,  rest  from  his  labors; 
therefore 

"Resolved,  That,  while  we  bow  in  submission  to  the  will  of 
God,  we  must  still  mourn  that  we  have  lost  one  who  had  been 
for  so  many  years  a  member  of  this  body ;  and  that  the  Church 
has  been  deprived  of  a  friend  who  has  always  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  its  welfare,  and  whose  Christian  duties  have  always 
been  performed  with  such  fidelity  and  zeal. 

"Resolved,  That  while  we  tender  to  his  bereaved  wife  and 
family  our  warmest  sympathies,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  he  has 
been  gathered  to  his  rest  at  a  good  old  age,  in  the  comfort  of  a 
reasonable,  religious  and  holy  hope,  and  in  perfect  charity  with 
the  world." 

Another  honored  name  was  soon  added  to  the  death  roll  of  the 
Parish.  In  the  fall  of  1866  Commodore  R.  F.  Stockton  was  gathered 
to  his  fathers  and  was  buried  in  the  family  plot  in  the  Princeton  Ceme- 
tery. He  died  in  Morven,  the  old  family  mansion,  surrounded  by  his 
stricken  children  and  the  sorrowing  dependents  of  his  ancient  home. 
Widely  known  and  respected  throughout  the  land,  his  death  was  not 
more  a  private  grief  than  a  public  loss.  Many  distinguished  personages 
from  this  and  other  States  were  gathered  at  his  bier,  and  attested  thus 
the  sincerity  of  the  public  mourning.  But  it  was  in  Princeton  that  his 
death  was  most  deeply  felt.  When  alluding  to  it  on  the  following 
Sunday  I  well  remember  how  the  emotion  of  the  congregation  evinced 
the  general  feeling  of  bereavement.     There  was   mourning  here,  not 


30 

only  for  the  honored  citizen,  but  also  for  the  generous  and  open-hearted 
friend.  When  the  husband,  or  the  houseband,  goes,  the  house  itself 
will  often  drop  apart ;  and  the  removal  of  the  numerous  children  of 
this  family  left  a  vacancy  in  the  Parish  and  the  Borough  which  never 
can  be  filled.  One  of  the  sons,  Mr.  Richard  Stockton,  continued  to 
reside  in  Princeton  until  his  death,  and  one  of  his  grandsons,  Bayard 
Stockton,  the  present  Junior  Warden  of  the  Parish,  now  resides  in 
Morven,  the  old  family  seat. 

On  Tuesday  in  Easter  week  Mr.  James  Dundas  Lippincott,  of 
Philadelphia,  was  married  to  Miss  Alice  Potter,  youngest  daughter  of 
Thomas  Fuller  Potter,  of  Princeton,  N.  J.  The  marriage  was  per- 
formed at  "Prospect"  by  Bishop  Wm.  Henry  Odenheimer,  assisted  by 
the  Rector.  The  nuptial  ceremony  and  feast  will  be  remembered  by 
some  of  the  older  members  of  the  Parish,  and  it  is  here  referred  to 
because  it  was  an  occasion  which  began  a  new  chapter  in  the  history 
of  the  Parish.  The  bride  on  her  wedding  day  started  the  building  fund 
of  a  new  church  by  a  gift  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  This  was  formally 
presented  to  the  Vestry  a  few  weeks  later. 

It  was  cheering  to  the  heart  of  the  young  Rector  that  in  a  Con- 
firmation held  in  the  first  year  of  his  settlement,  there  should  have  been 
one  whose  friendly  spirit  and  strength  of  character  marked  him  out  for 
a  support  on  which  the  Minister  in  his  inexperience  might  securely  lean. 
Mr.  Joseph  H.  Bruere  and  his  wife  Mary  Russell  Bruere  were  among 
the  first  to  be  confirmed.  Mr.  Bruere  soon  became  a  Vestryman,  and 
for  long  years  has  been  the  honored  Senior  Warden  of  the  Parish;  and 
even  though  he  enter  protest,  the  writer  must  be  allowed  to  say  that 
he  has  more  than  fulfilled  the  promise  of  that  early  day.  For  more  than 
forty  years  both  Rector  and  people  have  relied  upon  his  sound  judg- 
ment, his  wisdom  in  council,  his  readiness  to  help  in  times  of  need,  and 
have  never  known  the  support  to  fail.  Five  years  later  his  home  at 
Stony  Brook  was  darkened  by  the  shadow  of  a  great  domestic  sorrow. 
Mrs.  Bruere,  after  a  lingering  illness,  was  taken  from  the  family  circle 
and  added  to  the  fellowship  of  "the  happy  land  of  perfect  rest  above." 
She  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  leaving  a  daughter  who  bore  her 
name  to  cheer  the  darkened  dwelling  and  comfort  the  bereaved  and 
lonely  heart.  Many  will  recall  Mrs.  Bruere's  brightness  of  spirit, 
sweetness  of  manner,  and  withal  her  simple  and  unaffected  piety. 
Among  the  Rector's  pleasing  memories  is  the  recollection  of  the  interest 
she  took  in  furnishing  the  Rectory  before  his  marriage,  and  of  the 
cordial  and  oft-repeated  hospitality  extended  to  his  family  afterwards. 
But  Heaven  had  early  marked  her  for  its  own,  and  soon  she  "was  not, 
for  God  took  her."  Her  daughter  was  married  in  the  year  1884  to 
Professor  Frederick  N.  Willson,  of  the  University,  and  in  1893  sne 
joined  her  mother  in  the  better  land. 


31 

The  New  Church 

In  our  narrative,  we  are  now  brought  to  the  events  of  the  time 
in  which  even  some  of  the  younger  among  us  have  lived  and  moved. 
Fidelity  to  history  will  oblige  me  to  make  mention  of  the  names  of 
some  who  possibly  may  shrink  from  public  mention.  But  the  chron- 
icler of  the  City  of  God  must  be  true  to  facts  and  for  the  edification 
of  the  coming  generations  must  make  record  of  good  deeds,  over 
which  the  humility  of  the  doer  would  have  drawn  the  veil  of  silence. 
Time,  which  changes  everything  it  touches,  had  now  begun  to  make 
its  mark  upon  the  building  in  which  our  fathers  worshipped.  It  was 
in  need  of  alteration  and  repair,  and  the  congregation  had  to  meet  the 
question  whether  it  were  better  to  restore  the  old  structure,  or  to  replace 
it  by  another  more  fully  suited  to  its  needs.  The  opinion  that  the 
latter  was  the  wiser  course  was  generally  entertained.  Some,  indeed, 
to  whom  the  old  building  was  endeared  by  long  association,  found  it 
difficult  to  support  this  view.  But  they  generously  made  a  sacrifice 
of  their  private  feeling  for  the  common  good,  and  soon  there  were  none 
to  hinder  and  many  to  help  on  the  "making  all  things  new."  None  so 
warmly  espoused  the  project  of  a  new  church  as  the  descendants  of 
those  who  had  been  mainly  instrumental  in  the  rearing  of  the  old. 
A  plan  for  the  desired  structure  was  soon  prepared  by  Mr.  R.  M. 
Upjohn,  the  gifted  church  architect,  of  New  York,  who  was  aided  in 
his  work  by  the  suggestions  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Henry  Hopkins.  At 
a  meeting  on  June  19,  1867,  the  plan  was  submitted  to  the  Vestry,  with 
the  accompanying  letter : 

To    the    Rector,    Wardens    and    Vestrymen    of    Trinity    Church, 

Princeton  : 

Gentlemen — I  send  you  the  plan  of  the  new  church  build- 
ing proposed  to  be  erected  in>  the  place  of  the  present  one.  If 
the  plan  is  satisfactory  to  you,  and  you  deem  it  advisable  to 
make  the  change  in  accordance  with  it,  I  will  subscribe  for 
this  purpose  ten  bonds  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  R.  R.  Co. 
of  one  thousand  dollars  each.  Yours  truly. 

(Signed)     Alice  Potter. 

To  this  most  generous  proposition  the  Vestry,  in  resolutions 
offered  by  Mr.  Richard  Stockton,  made  the  following  response  : 

Resolved,  That  the  officers  of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton, 
New  Jersey,  hereby  gratefully  accept  the  trust  in  manner  and 
form  offered  in  the  above  letter  from  Miss  Alice  Potter,  with 
the  reservation  that  the  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestry  may 
modify  the  plan  of  the  building  if  the  persons  contributing 
two-thirds  of  the  fund  shall  agree  to  such  modification. 

Resolved,  That  Richard  Stockton  and  Francis  Stevens 
Conover  be  and  are  hereby  appointed  trustees  of  said  fund, 
with    full    power    to    receive,    invest    and    re-invest    all    funds 


which  may  be  contributed  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  the  new 
church  building  in  the  place  of  the  present  building;  and  that 
the  said  trustees  report  to  the  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestry 
whenever  the  fund  is  sufficiently  increased  to  authorize  contract 
for  the  new  building  to  be  made;  and  be  it  further 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  especially  satisfactory  to  this  cor- 
poration to  record  that  this  donation,  together  with  other 
large  donations  which  it  has  received,  are  free-will  unsolicited 
offerings  from  those  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
seek  to  adorn  the  place  where  He  has  promised  to  be  present 
to  direct  and  bless  His  Church,  and  we  trust  the  new  walls 
may  be  erected  for  His  honor  and  filled  with  His  glory." 

This  building  fund  thus  started  was  soon  increased  by  another 
subscription  of  five  thousand  dollars  by  Mrs.  Richard  S.  Conover ; 
and  with  this  solid  basis  of  encouragement,  the  hope  was  entertained 
that  the  good  work  would  not  be  very  long  delayed.  In  an  address 
to  the  congregation  the  Rector  endeavored  to  enlist  the  interest  of  all, 
and  proposed  a  plan  by  which  both  the  young  and  the  old  might  have 
the  satisfaction  of  contributing  something  to  the  building  fund.  His 
suggestions  were  adopted  by  a  number  of  the  congregation,  and 
generous  subscriptions  were  made  by  Mr.  Joseph  Olden,  Mr.  Joseph 
H.  Bruere,  Mr.  Richard  S.  Conover,  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover,  Mrs.  Sarah  J. 
Potter,  Mrs.  G.  F.  Emmons  and  others.  But  as  the  pledged  amount 
was  not  yet  sufficient  for  the  need,  the  Rector  and  Mr.  R.  S.  Conover 
were  designated  by  the  Vestry  as  a  committee  to  devise  some  plan  by 
which  the  lack  might  be  supplied.  The  committee  determined  to 
invite  the  congregation  to  make  pledges  for  the  purpose,  extending 
through  the  space  of  five  years,  and  payable  in  annual  installments.  A 
circular,  explanatory  of  the  plan  and  containing  the  proposed  pledge 
was  generally  distributed,  and  the  committee  soon  had  the  happiness 
of  reporting  to  the  Vestry  that  the  members  of  the  congregation  had 
quite  generally  responded  to  their  appeal.     The  circular  was  as  follows : 

The  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestry 

of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton  : 

To  All  The  Members  Thereof  : 
Greeting! 

It  is  doubtless  known  to  you  that  a  project  has  been  set 
on  foot  to  provide  a  more  comfortable  and  commodious  House 
of  Worship  than  we  now  possess. 

We  are  equally  unwilling  to  annoy  you,  by  application  for 
subscription  to  the  Building  Fund,  or  to  deprive  you  who  may 
deem  it  a  privilege  to  contribute,  from  the  opportunity  of  help- 
ing on  the  work,  which,  by  the  will  of  God,  may  prove  a 
blessing  to  ourselves,  and  our  posterity.  We  have  determined, 
therefore,  in  order  that  every  one  may  "do  according  as  he  is 
disposed  in  his  heart,"  to  send  every  member  of  the  congre- 
gation the  enclosed  Pledge  which  is  to  be  filled  up  with  the 
name  of  the  person  who  contributes  and  the  amount  he  desires 
to  give. 


33 

Inasmuch  as  it  is  supposed  that  many  would  prefer  giving 
a  small  sum  annually,  to  a  larger  one  at  once,  it  has  been 
deemed  advisable  to  extend  the  time  to  five  years. 

If  the  sum  of  ten  dollars  per  annum  were  pledged  by  every 
adult  member  of  the  Parish,  for  five  years,  then  this  amount, 
added  to  what  has  been  already  given,  would  justify  the 
Vestry  in  an  early  undertaking  of  the  work. 

While  it  is  not  expected  that  all  will  give  so  much,  it  is 
hoped  that  many  will  give  more. 

The  amount  pledged  by  each  person  will  be  known  only 
to  the  Committee. 

If  any  person  should  prefer  to  give  the  whole  amount  of 
his  subscription  at  any  time  during  the  five  years,  the  Pledge 
will  be  returned  to  him. 

Knowing  that  ''except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  their  labor 
is  but  lost  that  build  it,"  we  ask  the  prayers  of  all  the  members 
of  the  Parish,  that  we  may  be  prospered  in  the  work. 

I  Rev.  A.  B.  Baker  Rector 
By  order  of  the  Vestry,  -j  R.  S.  Conover 

I  Committee. 

We  also  enclose  a  note,  which,  when  filled  up  and  signed, 
please  send  by  mail  to  Rev.  A.  B.  Baker,  Princeton,  or  leave 
it  at  the  Rectory. 

Please  return  answer  by  February  15th,  if  possible. 
Princeton,  February  1st,  1868. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry,  on  October  21,  1867,  a  building  com- 
mittee, consisting  cf  Mr.  R.  S.  Conover,  Mr.  Henry  Leard  and  Mr. 
Joseph  Olden,  was  appointed  and  endowed  with  all  the  powers  neces- 
sary to  carry  out  the  plans  proposed.  During  the  ensuing  winter 
preparations  for  building  were  pushed  on  with  vigor.  Early  in  the 
spring  the  work  was  actually  begun.  At  a  Vestry  meeting  on  March 
30,  1868,  it  was  resolved  "That  in  the  opinion  of  the  Rector,  Church 
Wardens  and  Vestrymen  the  funds  now  in  the  hands  of  the  trustees 
are  sufficient  to  warrant  the  commencement  of  the  work ; 
and  that  they  consider  the  Building  Committee  justified 
in  proceeding  with  it.  At  this  meeting  Mr.  James  Olden  asked  to  be 
relieved  from  serving  on  the  Building  Committee  and  Mr.  Joseph 
H.  Bruere  was  appointed  in  his  place.  The  old  church  was  de- 
molished and  removed,  the  foundations  of  the  new  structure  were 
securely  laid  and  by  the  Fourth  of  July  1868,  were  sufficiently  ad- 
vanced for  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  In  the  selection  of  this  date 
respect  was  had  to  ancient  associations.  It  was  on  the  same  national 
holiday,  thirty-five  years  before,  that  the  corner-stone  of  the  first 
edifice  had  been  laid;  and  now,  as  then,  the  ceremony  was  performed 
in  the  presence  of  a  numerous  concourse  of  citizens.  Bishop  Oden- 
heimer  presided  over  the  occasion.  At  1  o'clock  p.  m.  the  Wardens  and 
the  Vestrymen,  the  Rector,  the  Bishop  and  a  number  of  attending  clergy 
formed  in  procession  at  the  Rectory  and  moved  to  the  ground  where 


34 

the  congregation  was  waiting.  After  prayers  by  the  Bishop,  the 
Rector  gave  a  brief  account  of  the  history  of  the  Parish,  and  stated 
that  there  had  been  prepared  for  deposit  in  the  corner-stone  a  Bible 
and  Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  a  Parchment  Roll  containing  ex- 
tracts from  the  Records  of  the  Parish  from  its  foundation  to  the 
present  date;  a  paper  on  which  the  names  of  the  Wardens  and 
Vestrymen,  the  Architect  and  the  Building  Committee  were  en- 
grossed ;  the  Roll  of  Communicants  and  a  list  of  contributors  to 
the  New  Church  fund.  The  deposit  of  the  box  containing  these 
documents  was  made  by  Mrs.  J.  Dundas  Lippincott,  a  ceremony  the 
recollection  of  which  will  not  easily  be  effaced  from  the  memory  of 
those  who  witnessed  it.  After  the  stone  was  placed  in  position  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  building,  the  Bishop  made  a  short  but 
eloquent  address,  the  choir  sang  the  "Gloria  in  Excelsis,"  the  Bishop 
pronounced   the    Benediction,   and   the   congregation    dispersed. 

In  alluding  to  the  occasion  in  his  Convention  address,  the  Bishop 
used  the  following  words :  "It  was  with  peculiar  satisfaction  that  on 
the  Fourth  of  July,  1868,  I  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  Trinity 
Church,  Princeton.  The  old  building  was  taken  down  by  the  descend- 
ants of  those  who  had  erected  it,  and  who,  emulating  the  liberality  of 
their  fathers,  had  contributed  generously  of  their  means  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  present  building.  It  is  designed  to  be  in  all  respects  worthy 
of  the  holy  purposes  to  which  it  is  to  be  consecrated,  and  worthy  of  the 
venerable  place  in  which  it  is  to  be  erected.  I  cannot  withhold  the 
grateful  record  that  two  daughters  of  the  Church  started  the  subscrip- 
tion to  the  new  Church — one  with  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars, 
the  other  with  five  thousand.  God  bless  those  noble-hearted  disciples 
of  Jesus,  and  all  who  by  their  gifts  and  prayers  have  aided  in  the 
good  work  of  erecting  a  House  of  God." 

The  rearing  of  "the  House''steadily  proceeded  from  this  date.  It 
took  nearly  two  years  to  build  it,  during  which  time  the  parochial 
services  were  held  in  the  school-room.  That  the  Church  was  finished 
and  ready  for  consecration  in  the  spring  of  1870  was  largely  due  to 
the  energy  and  perseverance  of  Mr.  Richard  S.  Conover,  the  chairman 
of  the  Building  Committee,  who  gave  the  work  his  untiring  attention 
and  his  unstinted  aid.  It  was  ordered  by  Providence  that  two  of  those 
who  participated  in  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  should  not  survive 
the  interval  between  that  occasion  and  the  consecration.  The  first  to 
depart  this  life  was  Captain  Edmund  Veyer,  who  died  in  August,  1869. 
After  his  remains  were  committed  to  the  ground,  the  Vestry,  of 
which  he  died  a  member,  passed  appropriate  resolutions,  in  which  they 
expressed  their  own  feeling  of  bereavement  and  tendered  their  sympathy 
to  his  afflicted  family.  The  next  to  disappear  from  our  midst  was 
the    Hon.    Richard    Stockton    Field,    who    was    one    of   the   most    dis- 


35 

tinguished  of  our  citizens  and  the  last  of  the  group  of  illustrious  men 
who  were  interested  in  the  foundation  of  the  Parish.  From  its  incep- 
tion Judge  Field  had  heartily  favored  the  new  church  project;  and 
when  it  was  undertaken  he  enlarged  the  church  yard  by  the  gift  of  a 
strip  of  land  in  order  that  the  proportions  of  the  new  Building  might 
be  more  advantageously  displayed.  He  was  not  permitted  however  to 
see  the  completion  of  the  church.  A  little  before  the  time  set  apart  for 
its  consecration,  he  followed  the  generation  of  his  fathers,  and  was 
carried  in  solemn  service  to  the  city  of  the  dead.  Eminent  in  juris- 
prudence, renowned  in  letters,  admired  in  the  social  circles  which  his 
talents  and  culture  had  so  conspicuously  adorned,  the  death  of  Judge 
Field  was  a  loss  which  was  felt  far  beyond  the  limits  of  Princeton, 
or  the  bounds  of  his  native  State. 

Consecration  of  New  Church. 

The  new  church  completed  to  the  base  of  the  tower  was  conse- 
crated on  Tuesday  in  Whitsun  Week,  June  7,  1870.  The  Vestry  had 
previously  sent  to  the  Bishop  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  : 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Rector,  Church  Wardens  and  Vestry- 
men of  Trinity  Parish,  Princeton,  held  on  May  16th,  1870,  the 
following  Preamble  and  Resolutions  being  offered  by  the  Senior 
Warden  and  seconded  by  the  Junior  Warden,  were  unani- 
mously adopted  : 

Whereas  the  Church  Building  recently  erected  by  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Parish,  is  so  far  finished  as  to  be  ready  for 
the  due  Celebration  of  Divine  Service,  and  is  free  from  pecu- 
niary embarrassment,  therefore : 

Resolved,  that  we,  the  Rector,  Church  Wardens  and 
Vestrymen,  respectfully  request  the  Bishop  to  consecrate  the 
same  at  an  early  day. 

Resolved  that  the  Rector  be  requested  to  communicate  with 
the  Bishop,  respecting  the  time  of  holding  the  Consecration 
Service. 

Resolved,  that  the  secretary  of  the  Corporation  be  re- 
quested to  send  a  Copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  Bishop. 

Invitations  had  also  been  sent  to  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese,  and 
the  absent  friends  of  the  Parish,  many  of  whom  were  present  and 
united  with  the  congregation  in  giving  thanks  for  the  blessings  of  the 
day. 

The  procession  formed  in  the  Parish  School  Room,  and  moved- 
up  the  aisle  of  the  church  in  the  following  order :  The  united  choirs 
of  Christ  Church,  New  York  City,  Christ  Church,  South  Amboy, 
and  Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Henry 
Stephen  Cutler,  of  New  York,  the  visiting  Clergy  from  this  and  other 
dioceses,  the  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  the  Parish,  the  Rector,  and 
the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese!     On  reaching  their  proper  positions  in  the 


36 

church  which  had  been  tastefully  decorated  by  the  ladies  of  the  Parish 
with  the  flowers  of  the  season,  the  Bishop  read  the  opening  part  of  the 
service,  and  called  upon  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover  to  read  the  instrument  of 
donation  by  which  the  church  was  formally  offered  and  presented  to 
Almighty  God.  This  being  done  the  consecration  service  was  pro- 
ceeded with — the  Bishop  preaching  the  sermon  and  administering  the 
Holy  Communion,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Rector,  to  a  large 
number  of  the  faithful.  May  we  not  say  that  on  that  memorable  day 
there  was  another  fulfilling  of  the  prophecy,  "The  glory  of  the  latter 
house  shall  be  greater  than  of  the  former,"  and  "In  this  place  will  I 
give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts." 

The  church  which  consists  of  nave,  transepts,  central  tower, 
choir  and  apsidal  chancel,  is  built  of  Princeton  stone  in  the  pointed 
Gothic  style,  and  is  much  admired  for  its  dignity,  solidity  and  beauty. 

The  Certificate  of  Consecration  is  as  follows : 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  GOD,  AMEN. 

Whereas,  The  Rector,  Church  Wardens,  and  Vestrymen 
of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton  and  State  of  New  Jersey  have 
by  an  instrument  this  day  presented  to  me,  appointed  and 
devoted  a  house  of  Public  Worship  erected  by  them  in  said 
Place  to  the  worship  and  service  of  ALMIGHTY  GOD,  the 
FATHER,  the  SON,  and  the  HOLY  GHOST,  according  to 
to  provisions  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  CHURCH  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  in  its  Ministry,  Doctrines,  Liturgy, 
Rites  and  Usages ;  and  by  a  Congregation  in  Communion  with 
said  CHURCH,  and  in  the  union  with  the  Convention  thereof 
in  the  Diocese  of 

New  Jersey 

And,  Whereas,  The  same  Rector,  Church-Wardens,  and 
Vestrymen  have,  by  the  same  Instrument,  requested  me  to 
take  their  said  house  of  worship  under  my  spiritual  jurisdic- 
tion as  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New  Jersey,  and  that  of  my 
Successors  in  Office,  and  to  Consecrate  it  by  the  name  of 
Trinity  Church,  Princeton  and  thereby  Separate  it  from  all 
unhallowed,  worldly,  and  common  uses,  and  solemnly  Dedicate 
it  to  the  holy  purposes  above  mentioned. 

Now  Therefore,  Know  All  Men  by  These  Presents, 
that  I,  William  H.  Odenheimer  by  Divine  permission  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese  of  New  Jersey,  acting  under  the  protection  of 
Almighty  God,  have  on  this  seventh  day  of  June  being  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy  taken 
the  above  mentioned  house  of  worship  under  my  spiritual  juris- 
diction as  Bishop  aforesaid,  and  that  of  my  Successors  in 
Office ;  and  in  presence  of  divers  of  the  Clergy,  and  a  Public 
Congregation  therein  assembled,  and  according  to  the  form 
prescribed  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  have  Consecrated  the  same  by  the  name  of 
Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 

And  I  do  Hereby  Pronounce  and  Declare,  that  the  said 


37 

Trinity  Church  is  Consecrated  accordingly,  and  thereby 
Separated  henceforth  from  all  unhallowed,  worldly,  and  com- 
mon uses,  and  Dedicated  to  the  Worship  and  Service  of 
Almighty  God,  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  for 
reading  and  preaching  His  Holy  Word,  for  celebrating  His  holy 
Sacraments,  for  offering  to  His  glorious  Majesty  the  Sacri- 
fices of  Prayer,  Praise  and  Thanksgiving,  for  blessing  His 
people  in  His  Name,  and  for  the  performance  of  all  other 
Holy  Offices,  agreeably  to  the  terms  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace 
and  Salvation  in  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  in  its  Ministry,  Doc- 
trines, Liturgy,  Rites,  and  Usages. 

In  Testimony  Whereof,  I  have  hereunto  affixed  my 
Seal  and  Signature  in  the  city  of  Princeton,  on  the  day  and 
in  the  year  above  written,  and  in  the  Eleventh  year  of  my 
Consecration. 

W.  H.  Odenheimer,  D.D., 

Bishop  of  New  Jersey. 

Beside  contributing  the  money  necessary  for  the  erection  of  the 
Church,  the  congregation  by  special  gifts  provided  all  things  necessary 
for  the  interior  furnishings  and  for  the  orderly  performance  of 
divine  service.  The  chancel  furniture  was  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Edwin 
Stevens  of  Hoboken,  N.  J.  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Potter  presented  the  lectern 
and  Mrs.  Richard  Conover  the  tiles  for  the  chancel  floor.  At  her 
own  expense,  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Potter  also  procured  the  carving  of  the 
capitals  of  the  piers  which  support  the  tower,  in  the  beautiful  emblem- 
atic forms  which  are  so  much  admired.  To  the  unremitting  efforts 
of  a  society  of  ladies  we  are  indebted  for  the  stone  steps  of  the  choir 
and  the  Sacrarium.  Our  sweet-toned  organ  was  principally  the  gift 
of  Mr.  Richard  S.  Conover  and  Mrs.  John  R.  Thomson.  The  massive 
font  was  presented  by  Mrs.  Telfair  Hodgson,  and  commemorates  a 
little  daughter  who  died  in  Oxford,  England,  and  is  buried  in  the 
graveyard  near  the  chancel  of  the  Church.  "Just  touched  with  Jesus' 
light,  then  lost  in  joys  above."  One  of  the  chancel  windows  was 
given  by  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Potter,  another  by  Miss  Maria  Stockton,  and 
a  third  by  Mrs.  Richard  S.  Conover.  These  exquisite  specimens  of  the 
art  of  staining  glass  were  executed  by  Wailes  and  Son  of  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne.  The  stained  window  in  the  nave,  in  memory  of  Mrs.  Caspar 
Wistar  Hodge,  was  a  tribute  of  parental  affection  and  was  given  by  Mr. 
Richard  B.  Post.  Surplice,  stole  and  altar  service  books  were  pre- 
sented by  Mrs.  Joseph  Olden  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Frederick  W. 
Stevens.  A  silver  alms-basin,  in  memory  of  a  loved  daughter  "not 
lost  but  gone  before,"  was  given  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dod.  The  upholstery 
of  the  pews  was  done  without  recompense  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Haddoway 
and  Mr.  Augustus  Case.  Mrs.  Richard  S.  Cuyler  gave  an  altar  cross 
"to  the  glory  of  God,"  and  in  memory  of  as  generous  and  noble  a  spirit 
as  ever  tenanted  a  mortal  shrine — John  Hamilton  Potter,  who  died  at 


38 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  26th,  1864.  The  altar  hangings  were  the  gift  of  one 
'"cunning  to  work  in  gold  and  purple  and  crimson  and  blue" — Miss 
Susan  Hall  of  Muncy,  Pa.  For  several  years  the  children  of  the  Parish 
devoted  their  earnings  and  savings  to  a  window  fund,  and  the  beautiful 
window  in  the  north  transept  is  the  result  of  their  long  and  patient 
effort.  This  was  made  by  Cox  and  Sons  of  London,  England.  For 
the  carpet,  which  before  the  tiling  of  the  Church  covered  the  nave  and 
transept  aisles,  we  were  mainly  indebted  to  Miss  Annis  T.  Field  and 
Miss  Caroline  Salomon.  Altar  linen  was  provided  by  Miss  M.  A. 
Graham,  and  was  afterwards  renewed  by  Mrs.  J.  Dundas  Lippincott. 
Still  later  a  complete  set  of  coverings  for  the  sacred  vessels,  beautifully 
embroidered,  was  given  by  the  three  children  of  Mrs.  R.  S.  Cuyler  of 
Baltimore,  Md.  The  laying  out  of  ^he  Church  grounds  was  done  by  Mr. 
Edward  Xoice.  There  were  yet  other  gifts  of  which  I  make  no 
record,  but  which  are  yet  written  in  the  Book  of  God's  Remembrance. 
Thus  through  the  liberality  of  the  friends  of  the  Church,  everything 
which  could  promote  the  convenience  or  contribute  to  the  beauty  of 
public  worship  was  freely  given,  and  nothing  was  left  for  heart  to 
desire. 

Soon  after  the  consecration  of  the  Church  week-day  services  and 
weekly  communion  were  established,  and  after  a  short  period  of  proba- 
tion the  choir  of  boys  and  men  were  properly  vested  in  accordance  with 
the  desire  of  a  large  majority  of  the  Parishioners.  In  the  matter  of  the 
conduct  of  Divine  Service,  the  congregation  had  learned  to  distinguish 
between  restoration  and  innovation  and  had  been  governed  by  the 
wisdom  which  prompted  Lord  Bacon  to  say,  "time  so  maketh  round 
that  a  forward  retention  of  custom  is  as  turbulent  a  thing  as  an  inno- 
vation." This  is  a  lesson  which  the  unthinking  are  slow  to  learn.  In 
remarking  upon  this  observation  of  Lord  Bacon  Archbishop  Whately 
says,  "To  reject  the  religious  practices  and  doctrines  that  have  crept 
in,  little  by  little,  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  and  thus  to  restore 
Christianity  to  what  it  was  under  them  appears  to  the  unthinking  to  be 
forsaking  the  old  religion  and  bringing  in  a  new.  It  is  in  truth,  how- 
ever, only  a  restoration  of  things  to  their  original  state."  The 
Christian  world  would  be  much  benefitted,  if  this  principle  were 
generally  recognized ;  if  all,  would  "stand  in  the  way  and  see  and  ask 
for  the  old  paths  where  is  the  good  way  and  walk  therein." 

As  already  said  it  was  in  the  minds  of  the  founders  of  our  Church 
to  provide  a  burial  place  for  the  use  of  the  congregation  and  a  parcel 
of  ground  adjoining  the  church  lot  was  offered  to  the  Vestry  for  this 
purpose,  by  Mr.  John  Potter,  before  the  Rectory  was  built.  Although 
this  ground  was  never  devoted  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended 
we  must  sympathize  with  the  noble  Christian  sentiment  which  prompted 
the  gift. 


39 

"I  never  can  see  a  churchyard  old 

With  its  mossy  stones  and  mounds 

And  green  trees  weeping  the  unforgot 

That  rest  in  its  hallowed  bounds : 

I  never  can  see  the  old  churchyard 

But  I  breathe  to  God  a  prayer 
That,  sleep  as  I  may  in  this  fevered  life, 

I  may  rest,  when  I  slumber  there." 

The  necessity  of  having  some  ground  where  the  poorer  members 
of  the  congregation  might  be  buried  was  met  in  later  years  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Bruere,  who  gave  a  suitable  lot  in  the  Princeton  Cemetery  and 
in  this  a  number  already  rest  in  peace  until  the  Resurrection.  This 
Church  burial  plot  was  afterwards  enlarged  by  Mrs.  Swann. 

There  have  always  been  a  few  young  men  connected  with  the 
College,  who  have  been  willing  to  add  to  the  pursuit  of  learning  a 
little  active  work  in  the  Parish  in  which  during  their  student  life  their 
lot  was  cast.  For  the  encouragement  of  such  work,  a  number  of  stu- 
dents in  the  early  part  of  the  present  Rectorship  banded  themselves 
together  in  an  organization  known  as  the  Rector's  Aid  Sqciety  and  this 
society  soon  became  responsible  for  a  weekly  Service  and  Sunday  School 
at  Princeton  Basin.  To  afford  the  society  a  secvire  basis  for  its 
operations,  Mr.  Richard  S.  Conover  bought  the  Chapel  at  the  Basin, 
which  previously  had  been  rented,  and  made  it  over  to  the  corporation 
of  the  Parish. 

The  St.  Paul's  Society  now  existing  in  the  University  is  an 
immediate  descendant  of  this  earlier  association.  Services  have  been 
held  in  the  Basin  Chapel  with  little  interruption  ever  since,  by  Lay 
Readers  of  this  society,  assisted  by  an  indefatigable  missionary — Miss 
Stevens — who  is  always  present  to  play  the  organ  and  lead  the  congre- 
gation in  their  responses.  In  the  year  187 1  Missionary  work  was 
begun  at  Sand  Hills  — ■  a  much  neglected  region  equidistant  from 
Princeton  and  New  Brunswick.  Valuable  assistance  was  rendered  in 
this  work  by  several  ladies  of  this  Parish,  chiefly  Mrs.  Richard  Conover, 
Miss  Maria  Stevens,"  and  Miss  Mary  Hope,  who  visited  the  people 
in  their  homes,  taught  the  children,  and  relieved  the  destitute  and 
suffering.  Although  there  was  no  building  fund  on  which  the  mission 
might  rely,  the  corner-stone  of  a  church  building  was  laid  on  St. 
Barnabas  Day,  1872.  The  work  begun  in  faith  was  blessed  of  God, 
and  when  the  building  was  completed,  there  were  sufficient  funds  in 
the  Rector's  hands  to  meet  the  cost.  Several  unsolicited  offerings  came 
from  unexpected  quarters.  One  was  from  Mr.  Frederick  Schuchardt 
of  New  York,  and  another  was  from  St.  Peter's  Parish,  London,  sent 
as  a  token  of  the  good-will  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  is  interesting 
to  record  that  the  first  Confirmation  held  by  Bishop  Scarborough  was 


40 

in  this  building.  The  Rev.  William  B.  Bolmer  assumed  charge  of  this 
mission  in  November  1873,  and  during  the  years  which  have  since 
elapsed  services  have  been  there  maintained  continuously  by  the  Lay 
Readers  of  the  St.  Paul's  Society.  Several  improvements  have  been 
made  to  the  building,  the  yard  has  been  fenced,  a  cemetery  opened, 
and  enlarged  by  the  gift  of  adjoining  land,  and  a  steadily  increasing 
interest  maintained  throughout  the  community.  It  is  surely  a  cause 
for  thankfulness  that  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Parish 
three  missions  have  been  established,  and  that  they  are  the  means  of 
ministering  to  a  goodly  number  "the  doctrine,  sacraments  and  disci- 
pline of  Christ  as  the  Lord  hath  commanded,  and  as  this  church  hath 
received  the  same."  The  St.  Paul's  Society  to  which  these  results  are 
chiefly  due  is  composed  of  those  of  the  undergraduates  of  the  University 
who  are  members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church ;  and  its  chief 
object  was  to  make  such  special  provision  for  their  needs,  as  could  not 
be  afforded  by  the  more  general  provisions  of  the  University  itself. 
Since  its  formation,  a  course  of  sermons  under  its  auspices  has  been 
delivered  annually  in  the  Parish  Church,  and  among  the  preachers 
have  been  some  of  our  most  distinguished  Bishops  and  clergy.  Bible 
classes  have  been  held  for  the  society  and  an  attractive  room  has  been 
provided  for  its  use  in  the  Potter  Memorial  House.  In  this  a  small 
but  well  selected  library,  presented  by  Mrs.  George  Allison  Armour,  has 
been  placed.  The  society,  by  its  licensed  lay  readers  has  not  only 
conducted  services  every  Sunday  in  three  Mission  Chapels  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Princeton,  but  has  also  occasionally  supplied  them, 
in  more  distant  places.  It  has  proved  a  very  useful  organization 
in  the  past,  and  "esto  perpetua"  must  be  our  wish  for  it  as  friends  of  the 
University  and  of  the  church  in  Princeton. 

In  May  1875,  Caroline  Conover,  second  daughter  of  Commodore 
Thomas  Anderson,  and  Juliana  Conover  was  added  to  the  list  of  the 
blessed  dead.  Her  character  was  one  of  great  saintliness,  and  her  last 
sickness  was  marked  by  a  patience  and  resignation  which  are  seldom 
equalled.  She  was  sustained  throughout  by  a  "reasonable  religious 
and  holy  hope";  and  just  befpre  her  departure  she  said  to  her  pastor, 
"I  am  glad  to  go  where  there  is  no  contradiction  of  the  will  of  God." 
The  sins  of  the  weary  world  were  a  burden  on  her  gentle  spirit,  but 
the  load  soon  dropped  away,  her  spirit  went  back  to  God,  and  its 
earthly  tenement  was  laid  in  the  family  vault  in  the  crypt  of  the 
church  at  South  Amboy. 

In  July  1877  the  Vestry  having  learned  that  a  perpetual  insurance 
had  been  effected  on  the  church  building  passed  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved,    That  the  thanks  of  the  Vestry  be  presented  to 
Mr.  J.  D.  Lippincott  for  his  generous  gift  of  a  perpetual  in- 


41 

surance  policy  upon  the  church  building,  and  that  the  same  be 
entered  on  its  records. 

In  April  1876  Mr.  Richard  Stockton  died  at  Springdale,  his  Prince- 
ton residence,  and  was  buried  in  the  Princeton  Cemetery.  Mr.  Stock- 
ton had  been  long  identified  with  the  Parish,  had  served  it  many  years 
as  Vestryman,  and  had  taken  great  interest  in  everything  relating  to  its 
welfare.  An  inheritor  of  the  knightly  traits  of  his  ancestors  he  was 
generous,  loyal  and  courteous,  and  he  died  lamented  by  our  whole 
community.  His  brother,  Robert  Field  Stockton,  a  sharer  of  the  same 
ancestral  traits,  removed  to  Trenton  soon  after  his  father's  death  and 
resided  there  till  his  death  which  occurred  in  1898.  One  of  his  daugh- 
ters, Mrs.  Margaretta  Pyne,  wife  of  Mr.  M.  Taylor  Pyne,  resides  in 
Princeton,  the  greater  portion  of  the  year,  and  with  her  husband,  puts 
the  Parish,  the  University  and  the  whole  community  under  continual 
obligation  by  munificent  liberality  and  readiness  to  help  in  every 
good  work. 

For  several  years  the  Parish  church  was  without  its  tower.  But 
the  Christian  liberality  which  conceived  the  plan  of  the  "latter  house" 
was  equal  to  its  full  completion.  In  the  year  1875  the  tower  was 
erected  by  Mrs.  J.  Dundas  Lippincott,  at  a  cost  of  about  $14,000.  Long 
may  it  rest  upon  its  massive  piers  and  uplift  its  golden  cross  above  the 
green  trees  of  these  academic  groves. 

Soon  after  the  finishing  of  this  undertaking  one  who  took  a  lively 
interest  in  its  progress  was  taken  to  her  rest.  On  May  1st,  1877,  Mrs. 
Sarah  J.  Potter  fell  asleep,  and  was  laid  in  "the  chamber  of  peace  which 
opens  toward  the  sunrising"  near  the  chancel  of  this  church.  The  wide- 
spread mourning  which  her  death  occasioned  is  not  yet  ended.  Long 
will  her  loss  be  felt  by  the  Parish  in  which  she  felt  so  deep  an  interest, 
the  social  circles  which  she  elevated  and  so  eminently  adorned,  the  poor 
whom  she  befriended,  and  the  many  to  whom  she  was  endeared  by  the 
graces  of  her  heart  and  life.  The  Vestry  gave  expression  to  their  sor- 
row in  the  following  minute  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  this  most  estimable  lady,  so 
long  and  intimately  connected  with  the  church  and  its  chari- 
ties we  have  not  only  lost  one  of  our  most  valued  members,  but 
one  whose  beautiful  life  and  example  are  endeared  to  us  all ; 
and  we  desire  to  place  on  record  this  feeble  expression  of  re- 
spect and  regard  which  we,  in  common  with  every  member 
of  the  church,  entertain  for  our  departed  friend. 

The  Vestry  also  deemed  it  a  privilege  to  erect  the  tablet  to  her 
memory  which  is  one  of  the  piers  which  support  the  lantern  and 
the  tower.  One  other  memorial  of  her  we  also  have,  and  when  on 
festal  days  we  come  to  the  altar  of  the  Lord  to  receive  the  cup  of 
salvation,  we  are  reminded  of  her  by  the  chalice,  which,  like  the  wall 
of  the  Heavenly  City,  is  garnished  with  all  manner  of  precious  stones. 


TRIXfTY    CHURCH    TOWER    FROM    THE    NORTHWEST 


43 

Then  when  the  Lord  Jesus  comes  to  meet  and  bless  us  in  the  sacra- 
ment, "those  that  sleep  in  Jesus  does  God  bring  with  Him,"  and  we 
realize  the  truth  of  the  words,  "Angels  and  living  saints  and  dead,  but 
one  communion  make."  The  following  description  of  the  chalice  and 
paten  appeared  in  the  Churchman  of  November  1878: 

"On  All  Saints'  day  an  exquisite  chalice  and  paten  were  offered  in 
this  church  (the  Rev.  A.  B.  Baker,  Rector)  inscribed  (on  the  under 
side  of  the  paten),  'In  loving  memory  of  Sarah  Jane,  wife  of  Thomas 
Fuller  Potter.'  During  her  whole  married  life  and  widowhood  Mrs. 
Potter  was  a  communicant  in  the  Parish,  and  one  of  its  steadiest 
supporters  and  most  liberal  benefactors,  leaving  it  a  bequest  of  $5,000 
in  her  will,  besides  all  she  had  done  for  it  in  her  lifetime.  The  portion 
of  her  personal  jewels  which  had  descended  to  her  younger  daughter, 
Mrs.  J.  Dundas  Lippincott,  was  by  the  latter  devoted  to  this  chalice  and 
paten;  and  the  result  is  the  richest  specimen  of  jeweled  church  plate  that 
has  as  yet  been  made  in  this  country ;  there  being  nearly  900  several 
stones  embodied  in  the  work.  The  general  shape  is  the  correct  mediae- 
val form  of  the  paten,  the  latter  fitting  the  top  of  the  former  like  a 
cover,  with  wide  projecting  margin.  The  bowl  of  the  chalice  is  plain 
gilt  within  (all  the  gilding  is  heavy  fire  gilding,  and  all  the  jewels  are 
in  settings  of  gold)  and  also  plain  gilt  on  the  outside  for  nearly  an 
inch.  There  is  then  an  outer  silver  cup  in  which  the  bowl  is  placed, 
and  on  which  are  three  large  amethysts,  at  equal  distances  apart.  Be- 
tween these  are,  near  the  upper  edge  of  the  silver  in  each  of  the  three 
spaces,  a  row  of  six  small  red  coral  balls ;  immediately  below  and  be- 
tween them  a  row  of  five  large  pearls ;  and  below  these  again  three 
rosettes  of  numerous  diamond  sparks.  Then  the  lower  portion  of  the 
outside  of  the  bowl  is  again  girded  with  a  circle  of  twelve  small  ame- 
thysts. The  stem,  above  and  below  the  knob,  is  circular,  as  is  the  entire 
foot  likewise. 

"Where  the  stem  is  attached  to  the  bowl  there  is  a  cable  moulding, 
which  adds  no  little  richness,  and  each  half  of  the  stem  is  studded 
with  twelve  small  red  coral  balls.  The  knob  is  in  six  swelling  lobes, 
each  terminated  by  a  different  stone,  all  cut  en  caboclwn.  At  the  angles 
where  the  lobes  meet,  twelve  large  pearls  are  set,  six  above  and  six 
below.  The  foot,  at  the  upper  part,  has  a  bevel,  on  which  are  set  one 
very  large  pearl  and  five  amethysts,  all  separated  by  six  upright  bands 
of  five  small  pearls  each.  The  bevel  projects  markedly  over  the  upper 
neck  of  the  foot.  The  circular  sweep  of  the  foot  (a  little  wider  than  the 
bowl)  is  divided  into  eighteen  portions  by  twelve  narrow  bands  of  gold, 
each  set  with  a  single  string  of  turquoises.  They  are  all  ogees  in  form, 
crossed  over  one  another,  so  as  to  make  six  larger  arches  below,  with 
wide  ends  downward,  six  smaller  arches  just  over  them,  with  wide  ends 
upward,  and  six  lozenge  shaped  spaces  in  the  middle  between  the 
arches.  In  each  of  the  smaller  arches  are  one  large  pendant  gray 
pearl  and  two  smaller  round  pearls.  In  the  six  lozenges  are  six  oval 
amethysts,  with  a  small  red  coral  above  and  below  each.  In  the  lower 
and  larger  arches  there  is  a  variety.  One  contains  a  cross  of  sixteen 
diamonds  set  in  black  enamel,  with  a  small  but  fiery  opal  in  the  centre, 
and  small  diamond  trefoils  in  the  four  angles  of  the  cross,  besides  two 
rosettes  of  seven  diamonds  each  (set  in  black  enamel)  in  the  lower 
corners  of  the  arch.  In  the  arch,  just  opposite  to  this  is  a  very  large 
pendant  gray  pearl,  with  two  other  round  pearls  of  great  size,  and 
several  smaller  stones.    The  lower  bevelled  edge  of  the  foot  is  garnished 


44 

with  a  continuous  row  of  small   red  coral  balls,  broken  by  six  hemi- 
spheres of  lapis  lazuli,  one  at  each  end  of  the  band  of  turquoise. 

"The  paten  is  perfectly  plain  on  the  top,  heavily  gilded.  The  lower 
side  is  silver.  Toward  the  centre  a  circle  of  of  six  red  coral  balls  marks 
the  size  of  the  inside  of  the  chalice  bowl.  Around  that,  beginning  and 
ending  at  a  red  coral  cross,  runs  the  memorial  inscription  in  good  old 
English  letter,  engraved,  with  background  shaded  on  the  diagonal  line. 
Outside  of  that  runs  a  complete  circle  of  amethysts,  jaspers,  moss 
agates,  and  other  stones,  cut  in  various  shapes.  The  work  was  designed 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Hopkins,  and  done  by  P.  Ford,  of  New  York." 

By  the  last  will  and  testament  of  Mrs.  Potter  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars  was  bequeathed  to  the  Vestry  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  pulpit,  decorating  the  walls  and  tiling  the  floors  of  the 
church.  The  action  of  the  Vestry  relative  to  this  bequest  is  as 
follows : 

At  a  meeting  held  on  January  6th,  1878,  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover  read  a 
letter  received  from  Mr.  J.  D.  Lippincott,  executor  of  the  estate  of  Mrs. 
Sarah  J.  Potter,  stating  that  Mrs.  Potter  had  bequeathed  to  the  Rector, 
Wardens  and  Vestrymen  the  sum  of  $5000  for  the  purpose  of  complet- 
ing the  church  and  that  the  sum  had  been  deposited  to  the  credit  of  Mr. 
F.  S.  Conover,  the  Treasurer  of  the  church  in  the  Fidelity  Trust  and 
Safe  Deposit  Co.  of  Philadelphia.  He  also  read  a  letter  from  Mrs. 
Alice  Lippincott  stating  the  views  and  wishes  of  her  mother  respecting 
the  use  of  the  bequest.  Whereupon,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Joseph  H. 
Bruere  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Rector,  Junior  Warden  and  Mr.  F.  S. 
Conover  be  appointed  a  committee  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of 
Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Potter,  as  conveyed  to  us  by  her  executors, 
and  as  provided  for  by  her  noble  bequest  to  the  church. 

Resolved  also  that  this  committee  be  instructed,  if  it  be 
agreeable  to  her  children,  to  erect  in  the  church  for  the  Vestry, 
a  Tablet  in  sacred  memory  of  the  deceased. 

The  Tablet  bears  this  inscription : 

Erected  By  The  Vestry 

To  Commemorate 

The  Christian  Life 

And  Example  of 

Mrs.  Sarah  Jane  Potter. 

Anno  Domino  1878. 

The  committee  appointed  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  testator 
consisted  of  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover,  Mr.  J.  D.  Lippincott  and  the  Rector. 
They  at  once  began  the  designated  improvements,  and  while  the  work 
was  carrying  on,  the  congregation  once  more  "tabernacled"  in  the 
Parish  school  room.  The  improvements  were  finished  in  the  fall  of 
1878.  The  church  was  made  ready  for  the  re-entrance  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  the  presence  of  the  Bishop  was  secured  for  the  opening 
service.  But  on  the  Thursday  before  the  Sunday  appointed  for  the 
opening,    the    nave    of    the    church    was    partially    destroyed    by    fire, 


45 

occasioned  by  the  overheating  of  a  flue  by  an  overdriven  furnace.  Great 
was  the  consternation  of  the  congregation,  on  waking  in  the  early 
morning,  to  find  that  their  beautiful  church  was  in  flames ;  but  owing 
to  the  exertions  of  our  firemen,  and  our  citizens  generally,  the  fire 
was  confined  to  the  nave.  This  was  much  injured,  but  the  chancel  and 
transepts  escaped  unharmed.  While  the  firemen  were  at  work,  some  of 
the  ladies  of  the  Parish  made  coffee  at  the  Rectory  for  their  refresh- 
ment and  this  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  success  which  crowned 
their  exhausting  labors.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry  the  Rector  was 
asked  to  tender  their  thanks  to  the  firemen  and  citizens  of  the 
Borough  for  their  prompt  and  efficient  services  at  the  fire  and  accord- 
ingly he  sent  a  letter  expressing  the  gratitude  of  the  Vestry  to  the 
Princeton  Press,  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the  fire  department,  and  the 
Foreman  of  each  of  the  fire  companies.  A  building  committee  consist- 
ing of  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Bruere,  Mr.  J.  D.  Lippincott  and  the  Rector  was 
at  once  appointed  by  the  Vestry  to  restore  the  church,  and  the 
company  in  which  the  building  was  insured  advanced  the  funds  for 
its  restoration.  While  the  work  was  in  progress  divine  service  was 
celebrated  in  the  transepts  of  the  church,  these  having  been  shut  off 
from  the  nave  by  a  temporary  screen.  On  the  day  appointed  for  the 
opening  service  the  Bishop  was  with  us  to  counsel  and  to  cheer  us  in 
our  misfortune.  The  work  of  rebuilding  proceeded  without  hindrance, 
and  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the  new  year  the  nave,  completely  restored, 
was  thrown  open  to  the  congregation.  There  was  sadness  mingled  with 
the  joy  in  the  services  of  the  day,  for  it  was  known  that  one  who  had 
been  deeply  interested  in  the  new  church  would  never  again  be  per- 
mitted to  worship  within  its  walls.  A  month  later  she  departed,  and 
went  to  join  the  blessed  ones  who  had  gone  before  her  to  the  paradise 
of  God.  "One  thing  she  had  desired  of  the  Lord,  even  that  she  might 
dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  her  life,  to  behold  the 
fair  beauty  of  the  Lord,  and  to  visit  His  temple."  Her  heart's  desire 
was  granted,  and  after  a  life  of  beautiful  and  devoted  service  to  the 
earthly  temple  she  was  taken  to  the  temple  of  God  on  high,  and  she 
"shall  go  no  more  out."  The  west  window  in  the  nave,  erected  by  Mrs. 
Cuyler,  of  Baltimore,  commemorates  her  life  and  character.  It  bears 
the  inscription,  "To  the  glory  of  God  and  in  memory  of  Sarah  Jones 
Conover."  It  is  a  fitting  commemoration  of  a  character  of  rarest 
beauty  and  most  telling  influence.  Her's  was  "the  meek  and  gentle 
spirit  which  in  the  sight  of  God  is  of  great  price.  She  was  diligent  in 
business,  fervent  in  spirit,  and  she  served  the  Lord.  She  rejoiced  in 
hope,  was  patient  in  tribulations,  continued  instant  in  prayer.  She 
distributed  to  the  necessity  of  saints,  was  given  to  hospitality,"  and  all 
she  did  from  the  constraining  love  of  Him  to  whom  her  whole  being 
was  surrendered,  and  whom  she  loved  to  serve  in  the  person  of  His 


members.  She  entered  into  the  rest  of  her  Lord  on  February  4th,  1879. 
"Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  saints."  Although 
not  a  resident  of  Princeton  at  the  time  of  her  death,  the  Vestry  of  this 
Parish  gave  expression  to  their  feeling  of  loss  in  an  appropriate  minute, 
which  is  spread  upon  the  records  of  the  Parish.  The  minute  is  as 
follows : 

Whereas  in  the  ordering  of  an  allwise  providence  we  have 
been  called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  the  beloved  wife  of  our 
friend  and  fellow  Vestryman  Mr.  R.  S.  Conover,  Therefore, 

Resolved,  that  we  declare  our  deep  sense  of  the  loss  which 
we  as  a  Parish  and  the  Church  at  large  have  sustained  in  the 
decease  of  one  so  full  of  faith  and  charity  and  good  works.  The 
remembrance  of  her  saintly  character  will  long  remain  with  us 
as  an  illustration  of  the  power  of  our  religion  and  as  an  incen- 
tive to  follow  in  the  steps  of  that  most  "Holy  Life"  which  she 
tried  so  faithfully  to  imitate. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sincere  and  heartfelt  sym- 
pathy to  her  bereaved  husband  and  family,  together  with  the 
assurance  of  our  prayers,  that  the  God  of  all  consolation 
would  grant  them  comfort  according  to  their  need. 

In  a  yearly  anniversary  sermon  soon  after,  the  Rector  said:  Few 
are  the  Parishes  which  have  suffered  so  much  from  the  ravages  of 
death,  from  removal  and  from  change  as  our  own  during  the  past 
decade.  The  departures  by  death  we  most  deplore,  and  yet  there  is  a 
sense  in  which  they  are  an  enrichment  of  our  Parochial  existence. 
They  are  but  the  storing  of  our  jewels  in  the  treasure  house  on  high. 
How  rich  are  we  in  the  memory  of  the  sainted  ones  who  have  gone  to 
swell  "the  multitude  unnumbered — who  no  more  by  care  encumbered— 
dwell  with  Christ  within  the  veil" !  How  out  of  the  storehouse  of  our 
recollections  there  come  to  us  the  names  of  Mrs.  Catharine  E.  Dod,  the 
cheerful,  cultured  Christian  woman,  who  is  embalmed  in  the  fragrant 
spices  of  her  good  deeds ;  Mr.  Richard  B.  Post,  the  reverent  church- 
man, and  the  genial,  generous  friend;  Mrs,  Harriet  W.  Post,  the  godly 
matron  who  survived  her  companion  in  life's  journey  six  brave  years. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Downing,  helpful  so  long  in  the  work  of  teaching  and 
of  praise ;  Mrs.  Charlotte  J.  Leard,  always  so  interested  in  any  good 
work  in  which  she  could  engage ;  Charles  Stedman,  the  first  Senior 
Warden  of  the  Parish,  the  builder  of  its  first  church,  and  assisting 
through  many  years  in  the  rearing  of  the  temple  of  which  "the  saints 
build  up  its  fabric,  and  whose  corner-stone  is  Chrjst" ;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
James  Haughton,  the  cultured,  unaffected  Christians  who  ripened 
together  for  the  heavenly  world  in  the  peaceful  home  of  their  loving 
daughter,  and  who  lie  together  in  the  sweet  churchyard  of  the  Parish 
served  by  their  son  at  Bryn  Mawr,  Pennsylvania;  Mrs.  Louisa  C.  Tut- 
hill,  who  to  wide  literary  culture  united  that  culture  of  the  heart  which 
is   only   gained   when   the   "Spirit"    is   the   teacher ;    Mrs.    Cornelia    L. 


47 

Pierson,  who  early  acknowledged  her  baptismal  obligations,  and  by 
a  course  of  deep  sacrificing  love  through  no  ordinary  trials  and 
vicissitudes  showed  the  sincerity  of  her  consecration;  Mrs  Julia  Stevens 
made  meet  in  middle  life  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  on  high ; 
Miss  Elizabeth  B.  Stevens,  taken  with  the  dew  of  youth  upon  her, 
to  dwell  forever  in  the  opening  morning  light ;  Mrs.  Lydia  McGregor, 
the  aged  widow,  who  departed  not  from  the  temple,  but  served  her 
Lord  with  fastings  and  prayers  day  and  night ;  Elias  C.  Baker,  for 
many  years  a  Vestryman  and  serving  during  several,  as  Secretary  of 
the  Parish.  Many  are  the  other  names  which  come  to  memory  and 
which,  although  they  cannot  now  be  mentioned,  are  registered  in  the 
most  sacred  of  our  Parish  lists,  and  their  record  is  with  God. 

"O  soothe  us,  haunt  us,  night  and  day, 

Ye  gentle  spirits  far  away, 
With  whom  we  shared  the  cup  of  grace, 

Then  parted  :  ye  to  Christ's  embrace. 
We  to  the  lonesome  world  again, 

Yet  mindful  of  the  unearthly  strain, 
Practiced  with  you  at  Eden's  door 

To  be  sung  on,  where  angels  soar 
With  blended  voices  evermore." 

On  Whitesunday,  June  9th,  1878,  an  interesting  ordination  service 
was  held  in  the  church  when  Robert  Stockton  Dod,  Arthur  B.  Conger 
and  Howard  Earnest  Thompson  were  admitted  by  Bishop  Scarborough  to 
the  sacred  order  of  Deacons.  The  Rev.  Nathaniel  Pettit  and  the  Rector 
presented  the  candidates.  Mr.  Dod  was  the  oldest  son  of  the  former 
Rector  of  the  Parish,  and  it  was  an  hour  of  grateful  recollections 
when  the  son  received  his  commission  to  serve  at  the  same  altar,  and 
preach  the  same  Gospel  in  the  ministration  of  which  the  father  had 
"fulfilled  his  course."  After  ordination  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dod  engaged  in 
very  laborious  duty  in  the  city  of  New  York,  but  his  health  could  not 
endure  the  strain  and  he  was  obliged  to  suspend  the  active  discharge 
of  the  ministerial  office.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Conger,  after  a  settlement  of 
a  few  years  in  St.  John's  Church,  Woodside,  in  the  Diocese  of  Newark, 
became  Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Radnor,  in  the  Dio- 
cese of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  well  read  in  theology  and  philosophy,  and 
adds  to  his  learning  a  most  zealous  and  devoted  spirit.  A  long  Rec- 
torship attests  the  acceptableness  of  his  ministrations  to  the  people  of 
his  Parish  and  a  beautiful  stone  church,  built  during  his  incumbency,, 
is  a  monument  to  his  untiring  zeal.  He  was  married  in  Princeton,  in 
the  year  1880  to  Miss  Mary  Stockton,  whose  strength  and  charm  of 
character  are  treasured  in  the  memory  of  many  in  the  congregation. 
She  fell  asleep  on  November  10th,  1896,  leaving  behind  her  a  noble 
band  of  sons  and  daughters  to  cherish  her  memory,  and  emulate  her 
virtues.    She  was  buried  in  the  Conger  family  plot  in  Greenwood,  Long, 


48 

Island.  Her  sister,  Caroline  Bayard  Stockton,  also  a  woman  of 
saintly  character  and  fragrant  memory,  died  on  June  26,  1895  and  was 
laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  at  Princeton.  The  Rev.  Howard  E.  Thomp- 
son, one  of  our  most  faithful  clergy,  after  several  settlements  became 
Rector  of  the  Parish  at  Freehold.  A  considerable  number  of  candi- 
dates for  holy  orders  have  been  ordained  in  this  Parish  during  the 
present  Rectorship.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  Joseph  Colton, 
son  of  the  Rev.  Asa  D.  Colton,  George  H.  Hooper,  Arthur  Rutherford 
Morris  of  Trinity  Divinity  School,  Tokyo,  Japan,  Robert  Livingston 
Stevens,  now  of  Warwick,  Pa.,  Richard  D.  Hatch,  Willmantic,  Ct.,  and 
the  Rev.  Latta  Griswold,  of  Newport,  R.  I.  Names  of  other  ordi- 
nees  are  mentioned  elsewhere.  Owing  to  its  situation  in  a  University 
town,  the  Parish  has  influenced  many  outside  of  its  own  pale  to  seek 
the  ministry  of  our  beloved  church.  Many  a  church  student,  resident  in 
other  Parishes,  has  had  his  mind  turned  to  the  ministry  while  attending 
service  in  Trinity  in  his  college  days,  and  has  determined  to  devote 
himself  to  this,  the  noblest  of  the  professions.  Many  not  counting 
themselves  churchmen  have  also  decided,  while  here,  to  follow  the  same 
course.  I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  the  number  of  Princeton  Uni- 
versity men  who  are,  or  have  been  on  our  Clergy  list,  but  they  are 
probably  counted  by  hundreds.  The  catalogue  of  the  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary  shows  that  this  institution  alone  has  given  us  one 
hundred  clergy,  a  showing  which  puts  us  under  great  obligation  to 
this  venerable  seat  of  sacred  learning.  Among  the  large  number  of 
the  lay  readers  of  the  Parish  who  have  become  clergymen  are  the 
Reverends  Wynant  Vanderpool,  Arthur  Rutherford  Morris,  George  H. 
Hooper,  Henry  Martyn  Torbert,  Joseph  S.  Colton,  James  P.  Conover, 
Emelius  W.  Smith,  Arthur  C.  Powell,  Harrold  Miller,  Robert  A.  Mayo, 
Charles  Gray,  Robert  S.  Dod,  Arthur  B.  Conger,  Franklin  Spalding, 
Alden  Welling,  Arthur  Mason  Sherman,  Richard  Daniel  Hatch,  George 
Greenville  Merrill,  George  B.  Kinkead,  Ralph  Ernest  Urban,  Law- 
rence F.  Bower,  William  Osborn  Baker,  Thomas  Anderson  Conover, 
John  Talbot  Ward,  Henry  Augustus  McNulty,  Henry  K.  B.  Ogle, 
Latta  Griswold,  Charles  Townsend,  Jr.,  Morgan  Ashley.  Among  the 
Bishops  who  received  their  academic  or  theologic  training  here  are  the 
names  of  Johns  of  Virginia,  Clagget  of  Maryland,  Mcllvaine  of  Ohio, 
Pinkney  of  Maryland,  Clark  of  Rhode  Island  and  Presiding  Bishop  of 
the  Church,  Littlejohn  of  Long  Island,  Spalding  of  Utah  and  Darlington 
of  Harrisburg.  Bishops  Hare  and  Peterkin  were  residents  of  the 
Parish  in  their  boyhood  and  Bishop  Boone  of  China  was  also  here  in 
the  early  days  of  the  present  Rectorship,  and  aided  in  the  missionary 
work  of  the  Parish.  These  statistics  furnish  a  striking  comment  on  the 
importance  of  presenting  the  church,  in  its  symmetry  and  completeness 
in  this  "city  set  upon  a  hill." 


Chapter  IV 
From  1879  to  1883 

In  1879  a  most  estimable  woman,  admitted  to  the  communion  of  the 
church  two  years  after  the  formation  of  the  Parish,  was  added  to  "the 
list  of  the  departed."  A  memorial  tablet  placed  by  loving  hands  in 
the    north    transept    of    the    church    bears    the    following    inscription : 

In  Memory 

of 

Susan  A.   Dunn, 

Born  Nov.  29,  a.  a,  1805 

Entered  Into  Rest 

Feb.  11,  1879. 

Mrs.  Dunn  was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Jared  I.  Dunn,  a  member  of  the 
first  Vestry  of  the  Parish,  and  one  of  the  principal  physicians  of  Prince- 
ton. She  left  two  daughters ;  the  older,  Virginia,  became  the  wife  of 
Prof.  Karl  Langlotz,  the  younger,  Georgiana,  was  married  to  the 
Rev.  Leonidas  E.  Coyle,  of  Bridgeton,  N.  J.  Mrs.  Langlotz,  who  was  a 
woman  of  much  strength  of  character,  died  a  few  years  since,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Princeton  cemetery. 

In  the  north  transept  of  the  church  is  another  tablet  which  reads : 

"In  Memory  of 

Charles  Henry  Higginson 

Born  January  4,  1830 — Died  April  7,  1869. 

And  of  His  Son, 

Henry  Theophilus  Higginson, 

Born  December  18,  1867 — Died  April  14,  1890." 

Charles  H.  Higginson  was  the  husband  of  Maria  S.  Potter,  a 
daughter  of  James  Potter,  and  resided  with  his  wife  in  Trenton  during 
most  of  their  married  life.  His  son,  Henry  Theophilus,  was  a  young 
man  of  great  worth,  and  much  promise,  and  although  his  early  death 
seemed   untimely,   his   friends  cannot   desire  that 

"He  should  wander  back  to  life, 
And  lean  on  their  frail  love  once  more." 

Father,  mother,  son  all  lie  in  the  burial  plot  near  the  chancel  oi 
the  church. 

At  a  Vestry  meeting  on  April  5,  1880,  the  Rector  stated  that  he 


50 

had  recently  received  a  communication  from  two  ladies  of  the  Parish 
expressing  their  desire  that  he  should  have  the  benefit  of  six  months 
of  foreign  travel,  and  that  they  had  sent  him  a  very  liberal  amount  of 
money  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses.  Whereupon  the  Vestry 
resolved  that  an  absence  of  six  months  be  granted  to  the  Rector,  with 
the  sincere  wish  that  such  a  respite  from  work  might  prove  agreeable, 
and  in  every  sense  beneficial  to  him.  And  it  was  further  resolved  that 
the  Rector  be  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  arrangements  for  sup- 
plying the  church  services  in  his  absence  as  may  in  his  judgment  appear 
suitable,  and  that  a  committee  consisting  of  the  Senior  Warden,  Messrs. 
Bruere,  Stockton  and  Conover  cooperate  with  the  Rector  in  securing  a 
supply. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  Rector,  the  Rev.  Win.  G.  Andrews  was 
invited  to  fill  the  place,  and  the  Rector  and  his  family  sailed  for  Europe 
in  June,  and  returned  with  new  health  and  vigor,  in  December  . 

The  Rev.  Asa  S.  Colton,  who  for  many  years  resided  in  Princeton, 
and  often  assisted  in  the  services  of  the  church,  died  on  August  21,  1881. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry  held  immediately  after  his  funeral  on 
August  24,  the  Secretary  was  directed  to  send  a  copy  of  the  following 
minute  to  his  family: 

The  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  Trinity  Church 
desire  to  put  on  record  an  expression  of  their  sorrow  at  the 
loss  sustained  by  his  family  and  church  in  the  death  of  their 
late  respected  friend,  the  Rev.  Asa  S.  Colton.  Going  about 
among  us  for  so  long  a  time,  and  doing  good  as  he  had  the 
opportunity,  always  kind,  always  cheerful  under  his  many  and 
varied  trials,  he  lived  and  died  at  a  good  old  age,  a  consistent 
and  true-hearted  Christian.  A  priest  of  the  church  laboring 
contentedly  for  so  many  years  in  the  vineyard  of  his  Master, 
he  goes  to  rest  at  last  to  hear  the  joyful  words  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,  Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

To  his  afflicted  family  and  friends  we  offer  our  sincere  and 
heartfelt  sympathy. 

At  the  burial  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Colton  from  the  Parish  Church, 
Bishop  Scarborough  was  present,  and  the  Rector  made  an  address, 
which  at  the  request  of  the  family  was  afterwards  published. 

Mr.  Colton's  wife,  Margaret  E.  Colton,  survived  him  thirteen  years, 
and  died  in  May,  1893.  She  was  a  woman  of  rare  excellence,  and  in 
her  late  years,  when  she  was  seldom  able  to  leave  her  room,  she 
exhibited  a  cheerful  faith  and  patience  in  tribulation,  which  greatly 
impressed  her  relatives  and  friends.  Many  in  the  Parish  treasure  her 
memory,  and  feel  the  influence  of  her  example. 

On  July  2  in  the  year  1881,  the  country  was  convulsed  with  grief 
by  the  appalling  intelligence  of  the  attempted  assassination  of  President 
Garfield  by  the  fanatic  Guiteau.  On  the  Sunday  after  the  event,  the 
Rector  preached  a  sermon  from  the  text  "Be  still  and  know  that  I  am 


51 

God" ;  and  on  the  day  of  the  burial  of  the  martyred  President,  a 
memorial  service  was  held  in  the  Church,  at  which  the  Rector  made  a 
short  address  in  words  of  the  following  import : 

Bretheren  :  It  is  no  time  for  words.  In  obedience  to  the 
civil  and  church  authority,  prompted  by  our  most  deep  and 
saddened  feeling,  we  have  come  together  to  weep,  we  have 
come  to  pray.  Yesterday,  we  tried  to  think  of  some  of  the 
lessons,  which  God  in  his  Providence  is  teaching  us ;  to-day, 
"we  commune  with  our  own  hearts,  and  are  still." 

Time  and  distance  are  annihilated,  and  we  stand  with  the 
mourning  millions,  who  have  met,  at  this  hour,  at  the  grave  of 
the  honored  dead.  Him  we  are  helping,  as  we  can,  to  bury. 
He  is  the  Nation's  dead,  and  the  nation  commits  him  to  the 
tomb.  He  was  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  and  the  Church 
refuses  not  to  do  him  honor.  We  have  no  words  wherewith 
to  pronounce  his  eulogy.  His  record  we  leave  to  history,  his 
fame  to  time,  his  memory  to  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen. 
His  body  we  commit  to  the  ground ;  His  Spirit  we  give  back 
to  the  God  in  whom  all  Spirits  live. 

His  bereaved  family  we  commend  to  the  pitying  Jesus, 
who  once  wept  with  the  weeping  households  of  the  world, 
invoking  Him  to  be  as  a  Father  to  the  fatherless,  and  the 
lonely  widow's  God.  Ourselves  we  commend  to  the  helping 
of  the  heavenly  grace ;  our  smitten  land  to  the  God  whose 
Kingdom  ruleth  over  all. 

The  present  we  desire  to  redeem.  The  future  we  leave 
to  Him  who  has  guided  and  protected  us  in  the  past,  and  in 
whose  Hands  are  the  destinies  of  the  world. 

We  look  through  "the  mist  and  weeping  rain"  that  fill 
the  air  to  the  spot  where  the  gloom  is  deepest,  and  where 
the  tears  are  shed  upon  the  bosom  of  the  lifeless  form. 
The  last  leave  is  taken,  the  coffin  lid  shuts  down,  and  slowly 
to  the  tomb  moves  on  the  long  procession  of  the  dead.  The 
dust  is  given  back  to  dust,  the  grave  is  closed,  and  we  turn 
away,  with  the  mourning  train  to  ponder  on  the  sad  event,  to 
shed  the  secret  tear,  and  to  put  up  our  broken  hearted  sighs 
to  God.  O  God  be  pitiful !  God  be  merciful !  Turn  away 
thine  anger  from  us,  and  fill  our  hearts  with  peace  !  Be  with 
us  as  thou  has  been  with  our  fathers,  and  bless  our  Native 
land. 

For  a  few  minutes  after  the  service  I  beg  you  to  remain 
in  the  Church,  and  engage  in  silent  but  united  prayer  that 
God  would  sanctify  His  fatherly  correction  to  us ;  that  out 
of  this  bitterness  He  would  bring  some  sweet  and  lasting 
fruit,  that  he  would  turn  our  most  heavy  chastisement  into 
public  and  private  good. 

The  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Parish. 
The   time    drew   near   when   the    Parish   would    reach   the    fiftieth 
year  of  its  age,   and   it  was   deemed   fitting  that  the   date   should  be 
marked  by  a  suitable  observance.     It  was  felt  that  fifty  years  of  con- 
tinuous parochial  existence,  fifty  years  of  work  for  God  and  of  service 


52 

to  His  people,  fifty  years  of  blessings  poured  forth,  in  copious  shower, 
on  the  church  which  had  been  planted  by  the  fathers  in  uncertain  soil, 
was  an  evidence  of  favor  and  forbearance  on  the  part  of  God  which 
called  for  thankful  recognition.  Accordingly  it  was  determined  that 
on  Trinity  Sunday  in  the  year  1883  a  semi-centenary  of  the  Parish 
should  be  kept : — this  Sunday  having  been  for  some  years  observed  as 
a  Parish  anniversary,  inasmuch  as  its  name  recalled  the  dedication 
name  of  the  church,  and  as  its  date  often  nearly  coincided  with  that  of 
the  Parish  founding.  Two  services  were  held  on  Trinity  Sunday,  and 
on  the  day  following  there  was  a  Parish  reception  at  the  Rectory. 
Bishop  Scarborough  honored  us  with  his  presence,  and  many  absent 
members  of  the  Parish  returned  and  united  with  the  resident  parish- 
ioners in  the  services  and  social  gatherings  of  the  time.  Many  letters 
were  received  from  friends  of  the  Parish  unavoidably  kept  away,  and 
among  them  was  one  from  the  Rev.  Wm.  G.  Andrews,  D.D.,  containing 
the  following  lines  "In  Memoriam" : 

Forth  from  their  houses  the  elders  came  of  old, 
And  in  the  city  gate  sat  down  to  bless 
Their  people  with  the  law  of  righteousness. 

To-day  shall  faith  lack  vision  to  behold 

A  gate  here  opening  on  the  streets  of  gold? 
To-day  shall  memory  to  love  confess 
A  presence,  mid  the  supplicants  who  press 

The  threshold,  as  of  one  who  only  told 

The  Father's  will  to  men  in  byegone  years? 

Nay,  if  indeed  we  find  that  city's  gate 

To  bless  us  there  its  deathless  priesthood  wait 
Beneath  its  arch  their  home  of  light  appears, 
Their  voices  sweet  the  listening  Spirit  hears 

And  with  their  smiles  our  tears  are  consecrate. 

The  Rector  gave  two  historical  addresses,  one  in  the  morning,  the 
other  in  the  evening  of  Trinity  Sunday.  They  were  entitled,  respectively, 
"The  Old  Church"  and  "The  New  Church."  In  closing  the  first  address 
he  said  we  are  often  charged  in  the  Scriptures  "to  remember  the  days  of 
old,  to  consider  the  years  of  former  generations."  It  is  made  our  duty 
to  cherish  that  memory  of  the  past  which  shall  serve  as  an  encourage- 
ment to  present  trust  and  a  stimulant  to  present  thankfulness.  Out  of 
our  past  let  there  come  an  incentive  to  gratitude  and  praise.  We  are 
now  to  join  in  the  offering  of  the  Holy  Eucharist — the  great  act  of 
thanksgiving  which  the  church  renders  unto  God  for  the  blessings  of 
redemption.  Our  Eucharist  to-day  should  go  up  on  the  strong  wings 
of  grateful  feeling.  We  ought  to  offer  in  union  with  the  great  Sacrifice 
which  we  present  and  plead  our  sacrifice  of  thanks  and  praise  that  it 
was  in  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  plant  in  this  place  that  branch  of  the 
ancient  vine  of  Christ's  Church  under  whose  shadow  we  are  gathered. 


53 

We  ought  to  laud  and  magnify  God's  Holy  Name  for  all  the  blessings 
which  have  come  to  this  community  and  to  ourselves  from  the  planting 
and  tilling  of  that  vine.  The  fathers  all  have  passed  away;  God  grant 
that  for  their  reward  there  may  still  be  abundant  fruits  of  the  vine 
which  they  tended  with  such  loving  care. 

The  second  address  contained  a  few  statistics  of  offerings  made  and 
work  accomplished  during  the  fifty  years  of  our  parochial  existence. 
Also  statistics  of  baptisms,  confirmations  and  other  ministerial  func- 
tions. "There  are  registered  on  the  Parish  Book — these  statistics  are  in 
1883 — the  names  of  922  individuals  incorporated  into  Christ's  Holy 
Church  by  baptism;  532  have  been  confirmed;  129  have  been  joined 
together  in  holy  matrimony.  There  have  been  335  burials.  The  num- 
ber of  living  communicants  is  220.  The  Parochial  agencies  at  this  time, 
are  the  Parish  School,  the  Sunday  School,  the  Woman's  Missionary 
Society,  the  Parochial  Aid  Society,  the  Bible  Class,  the  District  Visiting, 
the  Sewing  School,  the  Young  Men's  Guild,  and  the  Choir.  The 
Wardens  of  the  Parish  are  Admiral  George  F.  Emmons  and  Mr.  J. 
Dundas  Lippincott.  Its  Vestrymen  are  Messrs.  Joseph  Olden,  Joseph 
H.  Bruere,  Charles  Lynde,  Bayard  Stockton,  Charles  McMillan,  and 
Joseph  Priest.  The  Treasurer  of  the  Vestry  is  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover.  Its 
Secretary  is  Mr.  Joseph  Priest.  The  leader  of  the  choir  is  Professor 
Charles  McMillan,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Horace  H.  Emmons.  The 
organist  is  Mr.  Charles  I.  Young.  Preceding  Mr.  Young  as  organist 
were  Miss  Maria  F.  Stevens,  Mr.  James  P.  Dod  and  Mr.  Louis  C. 
Baker,  each  of  whom  devoted  much  painstaking  labor  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  chuch  music.  The  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School 
is  Mr.  Frank  S.  Conover.  The  teachers  of  the  Parish  School  are  Miss 
Maria  Torbert  and  Miss  Rachel  Stevens.  The  Sexton  is  Mr.  Frank 
McCarty." 

In  closing  the  address  the  Rector  used  these  words : 

"The  work  of  the  past  we  leave  in  the  hands  of  God.  To 
Him  we  offer  and  present  it,  with  confessions  of  shortcoming 
and  acknowledgement  that  we  are  unworthy  to  offer  to  Him 
any  sacrifice,  yet  beseeching  Him  to  accept  the  offering  we 
bring  through  the  merits  of  the  sacrifice  of  His  beloved  Son. 
And  now,  my  brethren,  what  shall  our  future  be?  That  we 
must  also  leave  in  the  hands  of  God.  In  vain  should  we  try 
to  draw  the  curtains  of  the  half  century  on  whose  threshold  we 
are  standing,  and  foresee  the  events  which  they  veil  from  view. 
Our  only  concern  is  with  the  duty  of  to-day.  We  must  be 
faithful  and  wise  stewards  of  the  present  trust.  Into  our  hands 
is  committed  the  result  of  fifty  years  of  effort  and  prayer  and 
we  have  a  pure  Church  of  Christ  with  all  its  privileges  and 
blessings  as  the  priceless  heritage  which  we  are  to  preserve, 
and  leave  to  those  who  follow  after.  We  are  'to  hold  fast  that 
which  we  have  that  no  man  take  our  crown'  and  hand  it  on  to 
others.    We  are  not  to  be  content  simply  with  holding  our  own, 


54 

but  must  try  to  win  new  victories  for  Christ  and  His  Holy 
Church — must  try  to  lengthen  the  cords  and  strengthen  the 
stakes  which  mark  the  boundary  of  our  progress.  It  may  not 
be  our  mission  to  grow  into  a  very  large  and  locally  important 
Parish.  This  scarcely  seems  probable  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
there  are  fewer  people  in  the  borough  to-day  than  three  years 
ago.  And  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  our  congregation  must  al- 
ways be  partially  made  up  of  those  whose  residence  in  Prince- 
ton is  brief,  and  who  never  become  very  thoroughly  identified 
with  our  Parish  interests.  But  surely  it  is  our  mission  to  try 
to  influence  and  mould  the  generations  as  they  come  and  go. 
If  the  Parish  cannot  grow  into  a  tree  with  massive  trunk  and 
wide  extended  bough,  it  at  least  may  yield  the  seed,  which  shall 
be  scattered  by  the  winds  of  God,  and  'shall  take  root  down- 
ward and  bear  fruit  upward,'  wherever  it  may  lodge.  Like  the 
waves  of  the  ocean,  continually  advancing  and  receding,  is  the 
flow  of  our  Parish  life.  But  the  receding  waves  always  take 
with  them  something  gained  from  their  short  contact  with  our 
shore  and  they  are  carrying  some  faint  tinge  of  the  Christian 
and  Catholic  principles  of  the  Church  into  the  broad  currents 
of  our  national  religious  life.  It  is  our  mission  to  bear  clear, 
unequivocal  testimony  to  evangelical  truth  and  apostolic  order, 
in  a  place,  in  which  in  God's  own  way,  such  testimony  will 
bring  forth  its  fruit.  T  have  set  thee  for  a  witness,'  are  the 
words  of  our  ascended  Jesus  to  us.  Let  us  be  wise,  faithful, 
loving  witnesses  for  Christ.  We  are  a  city  set  on  a  hill  whose 
light  may  not  be  hid ;  let  us  see  that  the  light  which  is  in  us 
does  not  become  darkness ;  else,  the  Lord  of  the  Churches  will 
surely  remove  our  candlestick  from  its  place  and  require  the 
failure  at  our  hands.  Let  us  pray  for  grace  to  be  faithful. 
Let  us  ask  that  we  may  be  girded  by  God's  spirit  for  the  work 
that  is  before  us.  Few  of  us  will  live  to  celebrate  the  centennial 
of  the  Parish.  Some  of  us  mav  do  so,  and  out  of  the  fading 
memory  of  age  recall  the  recollections  of  this  day.  Some  of 
us  may  then  tell  to  others  the  story  of  the  fifty  years  which  we 
now  begin  to  write.  God  grant  that  it  may  be  a  record  of 
faithful  work,  of  growing  prosperity,  of  many  souls  ingathered 
into  their  Father's  house.  Let  us  do  what  we  can  to  make  it 
such  a  record.  Baptized,  confirmed,  communicant  members  of 
this  Parish,  remember  the  day  of  final  reckoning!  Let  us  not 
grow  weary  in  well  doing.  Let  us  bathe  ourselves  anew  in  the 
invigorating  streams  of  the  precious  Blood  and  begin  with  new 
energy  and  zeal  the  work  which  is  set  before  us.  The  past  we 
commit  to  the  'Ancient  of  Days.'  With  heartfelt  thankfulness 
for  all  its  favors  and  its  blessings,  with  an  earnest  prayer  for 
the  forgiveness  of  its  shortcomings,  we  take  our  leave  of  it 
and  look  forward  to  the  hopeful  future.  We  take  our  first 
steps  into  the  second  half  of  the  century  with  confidence,  with 
courage  and  faith.  May  He  who  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 
Beginning  and  the  Ending,  preside  over  all  the  changes  of  the 
coming  years,  and  make  them  all  contribute  to  the  glory  of  His 
name.  May  He  bind  together  the  old  church  and  the  new 
church  in  the  timeless  unity  of  His  own  Spirit,  and  make  them 
one  illuminated  leaf  in  the  history  of  the  Triumphs  of  the 
Cross." 


Chapter  V 
From  1883  to  1897 

In  the  first  few  years  after  the  semi-centenary  of  the  Parish,  the 
currents  of  its  life  flowed  smoothly  on,  and  "the  church  had  rest  and 
was  edified."  At  Vestry  meetings  held  in  1884  the  thanks  of  the  cor- 
poration were  extended  to  Mrs.  Alice  Lippincott  for  an  addition  of 
eleven  shares  of  the  Princeton  Bank  stock  to  the  endowment  of  the 
Parish;  to  Mrs.  Ellen  Slidell  for  the  gift  of  an  ornate  Kalendar  and 
Hymn  Board;  and  to  Mrs.  J.  A.  Swann,  (formerly  Mrs.  John  R.  Thom- 
son,) for  an  Epiphany  Star  hung  in  the  chancel. 

Mr.  Charles  Young,  our  gifted  organist,  resigned  his  position,  and 
H.  C.  Meserole,  a  student  in  the  University,  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

In  the  middle  of  the  year  the  congregation  was  called  to  mourn 
the  death  of  the  Senior  Warden,  Rear  Admiral  George  F.  Emmons, 
who,  after  a  lingering  illness,  passed  peacefully  away  on  July  2.$,  1884. 
On  July  25th  the  Admiral  was  buried  from  the  church,  whence  his  body 
was  borne  to  its  resting  place  in  a  family  vault  in  Green  Mount, 
Baltimore. 

The  Vestry  gave  expression  to  its  sense  of  loss  at  a  meeting  held 
soon  after,  in  the  following  minute : 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  remove  by  death 
our  Senior  Warden,  Rear  Admiral  George  F.  Emmons, 

Resolved,  That  while  we  humbly  bow  to  the  Almighty  Will, 
we  cannot  contemplate  without  sincere  sorrow,  the  great  loss 
which  this  Church  has  sustained  in  his  removal :  We  bear  will- 
ing testimony  to  the  fidelity,  zeal  and  patience  with  which  he 
discharged  the  duties  of  the  Warden's  office,  and  of  the  various 
other  responsible  positions  entrusted  to  him.  He  adorned  the 
Christian  profession  by  many  graces  of  character  displayed 
throughout  a  long  and  honorable  career,  and  he  won  the  esteem 
of  all  by  the  sincerity,  sympathy  and  courteous  bearing  which 
he  uniformly  exhibited  in  the  intercourse  of  private  life. 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  our  tenderest  sympathy  to  his 
bereaved  family,  and  assure  them  of  our  prayers  that  they  may 
be  sustained  in  their  affliction  by  comforts  from  above. 

Commemorative  of  this  gallant  officer  and  good  man  is  a  brass  tablet 
placed  in  the  church  by  his  family  and  bearing  this  inscription  : 


56 

In  Loving  Memory  of 

George  F.  Emmons 

Rear  Admiral  U.  S.  Navy 

Born  August  23D,  1812 

Died  July  23D,  1884 

A  Faithful  Friend  of  this  Parish 

And  its  Senior  Warden  from  1879  to  1884 

"Blessed  are  the  Pure  in  Heart 

For  They  shall  See  God" 

On  the  occasion  of  its  unveiling,  on  All  Saints  D.ay,  1884,  a  memorial 
address  was  made  by  the  Rector,  selected  parts  of  which  are  elsewhere 
presented.      (See  Appendix.) 

The  vacancy  made  in  the  office  of  Senior  Warden  by  the  Rear 
Admiral's  death  was  temporarily  filled  by  Mr.  Charles  R.  Lynde,  who 
was  elected  for  the  unexpired  term  of  the  deceased  at  a  congregational 
meeting  held  on  September  29th.  Mr.  Lynde  soon  left  Princeton,  and 
at  the  annual  Parish  meeting,  on  Monday  in  Easter  Week  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Bruere  was  chosen  for  the  office,  and  he 
has-  continued  in  it  ever  since. 

In  the  same  year  occurred  the  death  of  Henry  Leard,  a  Vestryman, 
and  the  contractor  and  builder  of  the  new  church ;  and  also  the  death 
of  William  L.  Clayton,  the  progenitor  of  a  numerous  family,  long 
resident  in  the  Parish,  one  of  whom,  Henry  P.  Clayton,  is  now  an 
esteemed  member  of  the  Vestry.  The  father,  Wm.  L.  Clayton,  was 
survived  by  his  wife  nineteen  years,  during  many  of  which  she  was  in 
feeble  health  and  illustrated  "the  Kingdom  and  its  patience"  by  cheer- 
fulness in  the  sick  room.  She  was  released  from  her  suffering  in 
January,  1903,  and  laid  to  rest  by  the  side  of  her  husband  in  the 
Princeton  Cemetery. 

Among  the  contributions  in  1885  was  one  of  $500  from  Mr.  F.  S. 
Conover,  given  as  a  thank  offering  for  recovery  from  sickness  :  a  good 
example  for  the  many  who  are  healed,  but  who  forget  "to  return  and 
give  God  thanks." 

Early  in  1886  the  Parish  met  with  another  great  loss  in  the  death 
of  Joseph  Olden,  a  descendant  of  William  Olden,  who  came  from 
Piscataway  to  Stony  Brook  in  1696.  He  had  served  the  Parish  for 
many  years  as  Vestryman,  some  time  as  its  Senior  Warden,  and  had 
frequently  represented  it,  as  one  of  its  deputies,  in  the  Convention  of 
the  Diocese.  In  the  first  years  of  the  present  Rectorship  he  was  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  School.  When  the  new  church  was  erected 
he  was  trustee  of  the  building  fund.  And  he  was  often  placed  on 
committees,  in  the  work  of  which  his  good  judgment  and  practical 
sense  gave  his  services  a  peculiar  value.  He  faithfully  discharged  his 
varied    responsibilities,   and   in   his    departure   the    Parish   lost    a   most 


57 

loyal  and  devoted  friend.  "He  rests  from  his  labors  and  his  works  do 
follow  him."  Mr.  Olden's  death  was  the  occasion  of  the  adoption  by 
the  Vestry  of  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions : 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God,  in  His  wise  Provi- 
dence, to  take  out  of  this  world  the  soul  of  our  deceased 
brother,  Joseph  Olden.     Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  place  on  record  the  sense  of  loss  we 
have  sustained  in  the  death  of  one  who  for  many  years  was  a 
member  of  this  Vestry  and  a  friend  and  supporter  of  this 
Parish. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  his  afflicted  family  our  sincere 
sympathy  in  their- bereavement,  and  assure  them  of  our  fervent 
prayers  that  the  God  of  all  comfort  would  lift  up  his  counte- 
nance upon  them  and  give  them  peace. 

Mr.  Olden  was  of  Quaker  lineage,  but  was  baptized  in  1858,  and  con- 
firmed the  same  year  by  Bishop  Doane.  One  of  his  daughters,  Mary 
Worth,  was  married  in  1880  to  Frederick  W.  Stevens,  Esq.,  who  after- 
wards became  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  State.  She  was  a  woman  of  fine 
culture  and  artistic  taste,  and  often  employed  her  skill  in  the  "work 
of  the  embroiderer,"  in  making  additions  to  the  wardrobe  of  the  clergy. 
She  passed  away  on  November  1st,  1898.  Another  daughter,  Maria, 
in  her  early  life  devoted  herself  to  good  works  in  the  Parish,  but  after- 
ward left  Princeton  to  engage  in  work  connected  with  the  Sisterhood 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  Fulfilling  her  mission  there,  she  undertook 
church  work  in  other  places.  She  ceased  from  her  labors  on  February 
15th,  1907.  Still  another  daughter,  Sophia  Dore,  gave  promise  of  great 
usefulness,  but  was  removed  to  a  higher  sphere  of  service  in  the  bloom 
of  opening  womanhood.  When  a  child  a  small  amount  of  money  was 
given  her,  the  income  of  which  is  devoted  yearly  to  the  work  of  the 
Altar  Guild  of  the  Parish. 

In  1887,  the  death  of  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Perrine  removed  one  of  our 
oldest  communicants,  and  severed  another  of  the  few  remaining  links 
which  bound  the  Parish  to  the  past.  She  was  the  wife  of  Major  John 
A.  Perrine,  a  well-known  citizen  of  Princeton,  who  for  some  years 
was  a  Vestryman  of  the  Parish,  and  at  one  time  Captain  of  the 
celebrated  military  company  named  "the  Princeton  Blues."  She  was 
a  woman  of  gentle  disposition  and  amiable  traits,  and  was  faithful 
in  the  discharge  of  all  religious  duty  through  the  long  years  of  her 
association  with  the  Parish.  She  died  at  the  age  of  83.  One  of  her 
two  surviving  daughters,  Mrs.  Joseph  Priest,  resides  in  Princeton,  and 
her  husband  has  been  a  member  of  the  Vestry  for  many  years,  and  he 
long  served  the  Parish  as  its  Secretary.  Another  daughter,  Mrs. 
Scotten,  resides  in  Detroit,  Michigan. 

In  1887  a  generous  parishioner,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Swann,  erected,  at  con- 
siderable cost,  a  mortuary  chapel  in  the  Princeton  Cemetery,  and  this 


58 

was  set  apart  for  its  sacred  use  by  an  appropriate  opening  service  con- 
ducted by  the  Rector. 

In  the  same  year  the  Parish  met  with  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of 
Miss  Esther  B.  Stevens,  a  member  of  the  well-known  family  whose 
ancestral  seat  is  Castle  Point,  Hoboken,  N.  J.  She  and  her  sister,  Miss 
Sophia,  had  lived  in  Princeton  many  years,  their  first  residence  having 
been  on  the  site  of  the  building  now  used  as  a  Graduate  School  of  the 
University.  They  took  great  interest  in  the  improvement  of  their 
spacious  grounds  and  with  their  own  hands  planted  most  of  the  trees 
which  now  adorn  the  shaded  lawns  of  Merwick  Hall  and  Stanwix  Hall, 
the  residence  of  Professor  Sloane.  Both  sisters  were  patterns  of 
charity  and  good  works,  and  both  were  generous  contributors  to  all 
benevolent  objects  in  the  Parish  and  the  town.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War  they  each  gave,  as  their  first  contribution,  one  thousand 
dollars  to  the  fund  which  the  Governor  of  the  State  at  once  collected 
for  the  nation's  defence.  Both  sisters  were  much  interested  in  the 
Aged  and  Infirm  Clergy  Fund  of  the  Diocese,  and  gave  a  liberal  sum 
every  year  for  its  enlargement.  On  one  occasion  Miss  Esther  put 
$8000  in  the  Rector's  hands  for  this  fund,  and  she  and  her  sister  both 
remembered  it  generously  in  their  wills.  On  a  lot  adjoining  the  Rectory 
Miss  Sophia  built  the  parsonage  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  endowed  it  with  a  sum  to  be  used  in  repairs.  She  survived  her 
sister  several  years,  and  was  buried  by  her  side,  in  a  family  vault  in 
the  crypt  of  Christ  Church,  South  Amboy.  Another  sister  of  the 
family  long  identified  with  the  Parish  was  Mrs.  Juliana  Conover,  wife 
of  Commodore  Thomas  Anderson  Conover,  U.  S.  N.,  and  mother  of 
several  children,  two  of  whom  are  yet  resident  in  the  Parish.  She  was 
a  woman  of  unusual  strength  of  character,  good  judgment,  and  practical 
ability  in  managing  the  affairs  of  life.  Withal  she  was  possessed  of 
those  amiable  traits  which  greatly  endeared  her  to  all  her  friends.  She 
lived  some  years  in  a  family  mansion  at  South  Amboy,  and  while  there 
gave  fostering  care  to  the  Parish,  and  the  Girls'  School  which  her 
family  had  recently  established.  She  spent  the  last  years  of  her  life 
in  Princeton,  and  fell  on  sleep  in  a  good  old  age  in  November,  1881, 
and  was  also  laid  to  rest  in  the  crypt  of  the  church  at  South  Amboy. 
In  her  last  will  and  testament  she  bequeathed  six  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  to  the  Trust  Fund  of  the  Bishop  of  New  Jersey.  In  a  Conven- 
tion address  Bishop  Scarborough  thus  speaks  of  the  benefactions  of 
these  excellent  women :  "Miss  Sophia  Stevens,  the  last  of  a  noble 
generation,  has  enriched  the  Aged  and  Infirm  Clergy  Fund  with  more 
than  $8000.  Her  sister,  Miss  Esther  Stevens,  gave  twice  that  sum  to 
the  same  fund,  and  another  sister,  Mrs.  Juliana  Conover,  left  by  will 
almost  as  much  to  the  Bishop's  Trust  Fund.     Thus  have  these  three 


59 

good  women  laid  Bishop  and  clergy  under  a  debt  of  obligation  for  all 
time  to  come." 

In  1890  Miss  Maria  K.  Torbert  resigned  the  position  of  Principal 
of  the  Parish  School,  and  accepted  the  charge  of  St.  Mary's  Institute, 
a  school  for  girls,  in  Dallas,  Texas.  For  the  seventeen  years  of  her 
residence  in  Princeton  this  estimable  woman  and  accomplished  teacher 
devoted  herself  to  our  Parish  school  and  spared  no  effort  to  make  it 
successful.  Many  of  the  younger  men  and  women  of  Princeton  still 
speak  of  her  thoroughness  in  teaching,  and  of  her  happy  influence 
in  the  developing  solid  Christian  character.  She  remained  fourteen 
years  in  charge  of  St.  Mary's,  Dallas,  and  during  this  term  our  Parish 
School  was  taught  by  Miss  Mary  Frances  Kallam  and  Miss  Katherine 
Stockton. 

Easter  Day,  1891,  was  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Rector.  At  the  church  service  on  Monday  in  Easter  week 
the  Rector  made  an  address,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  there 
was  a  reception  at  the  Rectory,  which  many  of  the  congregation  and 
people  of  the  Borough  attended,  bringing  hearty  congratulations  with 
them. 

Among  the  burials  of  the  year  was  that  of  Mr.  John  Murphy,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  84,  and  was  laid  to  rest  on  April  20th,  1891.  Although 
not  a  member  of  our  church,  he  was  drawn  to  it  by  ties  of  kindred, 
personal  preference,  and  long  association  with  some  of  its  most  im- 
portant families.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  and  Stirling  character,  a 
most  useful  citizen,  and  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  public 
enterprise  or  private  need.  But  one  member  of  his  large  family,  Mrs. 
Albert  S.  Leigh,  is  left  in  Princeton.  The  rest  who  survive  are  filling 
useful  and  honorable  positions  in  the  places  where  they  live. 

In  1893  the  publication  of  a  Parish  paper  was  begun.  In  its  first 
issue  it  gave  the  following  reasons  for  its  appearance : 

It  will  be  the  aim  of  the  modest  sheet,  of  which  this  is  the 
first  issue,  to  record  the  most  interesting  events  occurring  in  our 
Parochial  history,  and  to  be  a  medium  of  communication  be- 
tween the  Rector,  the  various  Parish  organizations,  and  the 
congregation.  It  will  try  to  give  wider  publicity  to  important 
notices  than  is  reached  by  a  single  announcement  from  the 
Chancel,  and  will  it  often  remark  upon  matters  which  cannot 
with  propriety  be  dwelt  upon  in  that  Sacred  Place. 

The  Trinity  Record  is  published  by  the  Trinity  Guild, 
whose  members  have  assumed  the  financial  responsibility  of  the 
undertaking.  It  will  appear  from  time  to  time  as  circumstances 
demand, — perhaps  quarterly,  perhaps  monthly, — and  the  young 
men  of  the  Guild  will  distribute  copies  of  it,  free  of  charge,  to 
all  the  members  of  the  Parish.  The  aim  of  the  editors  will  be 
to  make  the  paper,  as  its  name  indicates,  a  Record  of  the  doings 
of  the  Parish  as  well  as  a  medium  of  communication  between 
the  Rector  and  the  congregation.     The  several  Parish  organi- 


6o 

zations  are  therefore  urged  to  cooperate  with  the  Editors  in 
keeping  the  congregation  informed  of  their  aims  and  achieve- 
ments, and  all  items  of  news  concerning  them  will  be  gladly 
received  for  publication.  It  is  hoped  that  in  this  way  the 
Guilds  and  Societies  may  become  better  known  to  one  another, 
and  that  the  work  of  the  Parish  may  thus  be  made  more  effi- 
cient ;  for  though  it  is  not  always  well  that  "thy  left  hand  know 
what  thy  right  hand  doeth,"  there  are  many  occasions  when  the 
united  efforts  of  both  hands  are  clearly  called  for,  and  the  work 
of  the  Parish  is  best  promoted  by  mutual  knowledge  and  under- 
standing among  its  several  organizations. 

The  paper,  which  still  survives,  has  been  found  a  most  useful  in- 
strument for  accomplishing  the  ends  for  which  it  was  started. 

In  1894  the  Parish  suffered  the  loss  of  another  Vestryman,  Pro- 
fessor E.  O.  W.  Mildner,  who  for  several  years  had  been  a  member  of 
the  body,  and  had  discharged  his  duties  with  a  very  faithful  and  con- 
scientious spirit.  Professor  Mildner  was  a  man  of  high  scholarly 
attainment  and  taught  classes  in  the  Modern  Language  Department  of 
our  University.  He  was  also  possessed  of  fine  musical  culture,  and 
did  much  to  develop  a  correct  musical  taste  among  the  students  of  the 
University  and  the  people  of  the  town.  He  was  a  very  general  favorite 
in  Princeton,  and  the  esteem  with  which  he  was  held  in  the  University 
was  made  evident  on  the  day  of  his  burial,  by  the  attendance  of  the 
President,  many  of  the  faculty,  and  a  large  body  of  the  students  at  the 
service.    He  was  buried  from  the  Church  on  May  29,  1894. 

The  need  of  better  accommodation  for  various  Parochial  Societies 
had  long  been  felt  in  the  Parish,  and  in  the  year  1891  Mrs.  Alice 
Lippincott  generously  determined  to  meet  the  need  by  the  erection  of 
a  suitable 

Parish  Building, 

in  which  school,  choir,  guild,  and  working  organization  should  have 
ample  room.  Before  proceeding,  she  communicated  with  the  Vestry 
and  obtained  their  consent  to  the  execution  of  her  plan.  The  Vestry 
resolved  "That  hearty  consent  be  given  to  the  request  contained  in 
Mrs.  Lippincott's  communication  relative  to  the  erection  of  a  Parish 
Building,  and  that  we  put  upon  record  our  very  grateful  appreciation 
of  the  generosity  which  has  prompted  an  undertaking  which  promises 
to  add  so  much  to  our  facilities  for  Parish  work;  and  that  we  also 
express  to  Mrs.  Lippincott  our  unfeigned  thanks  for  the  intention 
expressed  in  her  letter  to  make  the  building  and  the  lot  on  which  it  is 
to  be  placed,  a  permanent  gift  to  the  Parish."  In  the  year  1891  she 
purchased  a  property  adjacent  to  the  church  lot  which  was  deemed  an 
eligible  site  for  the  proposed  building.  There  was  a  dwelling  house 
on  the  premises,  which  had  the  historic  interest  of  having  once  afforded 


6i 

room  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  for  lectures  to  his  classes,  and  this 
was  temporarily  used  for  Parochial  purposes.  Three  years  later  the 
dwelling  was  removed  and  the  building  of  the  Parish  House  was  begun. 
Bishop  Scarborough  laid  the  corner  stone  on  All  Saints  Day,  1894, 
giving  it  the  name  of  the  Potter  Memorial  House,  and  making  it  thus 
a  monument  to  the  family  of  the  donor.  The  rearing  of  the  structure 
went  steadily  on,  after  plans  furnished  by  Baker  &  Dallett,  architects, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  on  All  Saints  Day,  1895,  it  was  finished  and  ready 
for  its  Benediction.  The  cost  of  lot  and  building  was  about  $16,000,  and 
the  title  of  both  was  properly  transferred  to  the  corporation  of  the 
Parish. 

A  committee  of  the  Vestry  at  its  next  meeting  presented  a  resolu- 
tion acknowledging  the  gift  in  the  following  form  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Vestry  be  conveyed  to 
Mrs.  J.  Dundas  Lippincott  for  the  munificent  gift  of  the  Lot 
and  Parish  Building  the  deed  of  which  has  been  made  over  to 
the  Parish :  And  the  Vestry  desire  for  themselves  and  the 
whole  congregation  to  assure  Mrs.  Lippincott  of  their  very 
grateful  appreciation  of  her  liberality,  and  to  express  the  hope 
that  the  Building  may  long  contribute  to  the  usefulness  of  our 
Parish  in  this  community. 

As  the  Bishop  was  unable  to  attend  the  opening  service  on  All 
Saints  Day,  this  was  conducted  by  the  Rector.  The  choir  of  St.  James' 
Church,  New  York,  was  present  on  the  occasion  and  assisted  greatly 
in  the  musical  part  of  the  service.  It  also  sang  a  choral  service  and 
portions  of  an  oratorio  on  All  Hallow  Eve  as  an  introduction  to  the 
sacred  function  of  the  following  day.  But  the  brightness  of  the  day 
was  clouded  by  the  absence  of  one  who  was  in  almost  every  mind,  but 
who  was  not  permitted  to  participate  in  the  services.  Alice  Lippincott, 
the  donor  of  the  building,  was  not  allowed  to  see  its  completion,  but 
had  died  the  summer  before,  from  a  sudden  illness,  contracted  during 
her  summer  rest  at  Bar  Harbor,  Me.  The  Vestry  placed  a  Memorial 
Tablet  in  the  Building  which  bears  the  following  inscription : 

This  Tablet  was  placed  here  by  the  Vestry 

In  grateful  Remembrance 

of 

Mrs.  Alice  Lippincott 

Who  Erected  This  Building 

She  was  born  April  23,  1846 

She  died  July  21,  1894 

"By  Works  was  Faith  made  Perfect" 

In  the  year  1898  a  few  friends  placed  a  memorial  window  in  the 
south  transept  of  the  church,  on  which  the  following  legend  is  in- 
scribed : 


62 

"In  honor  of  the  glorious  Resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  loving  memory  of  Alice  Lippincott  who  entered 
into  rest  July  21st,  1894,  her  friends  and  relatives  who  loved 
her  in  life,  and  mourned  her  in  death,  dedicate  this  window." 

The  window  was  designed  and  executed  by  Mr.  Kemp  of  London,  and 
is  much  admired  for  its  drawing  and  delicacy  of  color.  It  was  unveiled 
with  a  service  and  address  on  the  second  Sunday  after  Easter. 

Elsewhere  is  the  substance  of  a  sermon  delivered  by  the  Rector 
on  the  Sunday  after  the  burial  of  Mrs.  Lippincott.  (See  Appendix.) 
By  her  last  will  and  testament  Mrs.  Lippincott  bequeathed  ten  thousand 
dollars  to  the  Parish,  and  directed  that  half  of  the  income  of  the 
bequest  should  be  used  in  making  necessary  repairs  to  the  church 
property,  and  the  other  half  in  increasing  the  Rector's  salary. 

In  1896  the  endowment  of  the  Parish  was  increased  by  a  legacy 
of  $10,000  bequeathed  to  it  by  Mr.  Charles  R.  Lynde,  a  former  Vestry- 
man, and  sometime  Warden  of  the  Parish.  By  the  terms  of  his  will, 
the  income  from  the  legacy  was  devoted  to  the  increase  of  the  Rector's 
salary.  When  resident  in  Princeton  Mr.  Lynde  became  much  interested 
in  the  Parish,  and  after  leaving  it  he  gratefully  cherished  the  remem- 
brance of  his  association  with  it,  and  made  in  this  bequest  a  memorial 
of  his  grateful  feeling.  While  here,  he  also  conferred  a  lasting  benefit 
on  the  University  by  founding  the  Lynde  Debate.  His  two  sons, 
Charles  Wesley  and  Rollin  Harper  Lynde,  have  since  been  gathered 
to  their  fathers. 

On  St.  Barnabas  Day  of  the  same  year  an  ordination  service  was 
held  in  the  church.  Three  graduates  of  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary-— Charles  Fiske,  Franz  M.  W.  Schneeneiss,  and  William  Osborn 
Baker,  son  of  the  Rector — were  then  ordained  Deacons  by  Bishop 
Scarborough.  The  candidates  were  presented  by  the  Rev.  Alfred  B. 
Baker,  D.D.,  and  the  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Philander  K. 
Cady,  D.D.,  of  the  General  Seminary,  New  York.  The  choir  of  St. 
James  Church,  New  York  City,  assisted  the  Parish  choir  in  singing 
the  choral  parts  of  the  Eucharist  and  an  anthem  composed  for  the 
occasion  inscribed  as  follows :  "To  my  Brother — William  Osborn  Baker, 
M.A. — specially  composed  for  Use  at  the  Service  for  his  admission 
to  Holy  Orders — and  to  his  classmates  of  the  General  Theological 
Seminary,  N.  Y. :    by  Alfred  S.  Baker,  M.A." 

In  October,  1896,  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow  fell  upon  the 
Rectory,  which  drew  forth  so  much  genuine  sympathy  from  the  con- 
gregation and  Vestry,  that  it  would  seem  ungrateful  not  to  record  the 
Resolutions  of  the  latter  respecting  the  event.  At  a  special  meeting 
held  on  Thursday,  October  15th,  1896,  it  was  resolved  that  the  following 
minute  relative  to  the  death  of  Alfred  S.  Baker  be  spread  upon  the 


63 

minutes  of  the  Vestry,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to 
the  family  of  the  deceased : 

"The  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  desire  to  ex- 
press their  deep  regret  at  the  early  and  untimely  death  of  their 
late  organist  and  choir  master,  Alfred  S.  Baker.  His  services 
to  the  church  in  the  development  and  training  of  the  choir  have 
been  most  valuable,  and  did  not  cease  when  his  official  connec- 
tion with  the  music  of  the  Parish  terminated,  but  his  zeal  and 
interest  in  this  part  of  God's  worship  continued  unabated.  His 
remarkable  talent  for  teaching  and  composition  he  loved  to 
exercise  for  the  benefit  of  the  church  of  his  childhood  and 
youth,  and  there  never  was  an  occasion  of  musical  importance 
in  the  Parish  from  which  he  was  absent. 

The  Vestry  will  always  gratefully  feel  that  it  was  owing  to 
his  effort  and  ability  that  the  musical  interest  in  the  Parish  was 
first  awakened.  The  fruit  of  his  labor  in  this  direction  will 
long  survive,  and  serve  to  recall  his  personality  many  years 
hence. 

It  was  also  resolved  that  the  Vestry  extend  their  sympathy 
to  the  bereaved  family,  and  that  they  attend  the  funeral  in  a 
body. 

Joseph  Priest, 
Secretary  of  the  Vestry. 

A  music  fund,  memorial  of  the  deceased,  was  soon  started  in  the 
Parish,  and  it  is  receiving  additions  from  time  to  time  by  interested 
members  of  the  congregation.  The  last  composition  of  the  deceased 
was  an  Academic  Festival  Overture  for  use  at  the  Sesqui-Centennial 
Celebration  of  Princeton  University.  A  fatal  sickness  interfered  with 
its  performance,  and  just  before  the  academic  celebration  he  dropped 
his  lyre  to  take  it  up  again  in  a  better  world. 


Chapter  VI 
From  1897  to  1908 

For  many  years  the  number  of  church  students  attending  our 
University  had  steadily  increased,  and  about  this  period  in  the  Parish 
history  it  had  reached  such  large  proportions  that  the  Rector  felt  the 
need  of  having  some  one  to  assist  him  in  his  pastoral  ministrations  to 
them.  In  an  anniversary  sermon  on  Trinity  Sunday,  1897,  he  spoke 
to  the  congregation  of  a  dream  he  had  sometimes  indulged  of  having 
a  curate :  and  shortly  after,  the  dream  came  true.  A  most  generous 
lady,  Mrs.  Alberta  T.  Pyne,  made  a  liberal  provision  for  the  salary 
of  a  curate,  and  the  Rev.  Charles  S.  Fackenthall,  of  Pacific  Grove, 
California,  was  invited  to  fill  the  office.  Mr.  Fackenthall  accepted  the 
call,  and  soon  entered  on  his  duties :  continuing  in  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  them  for  nearly  four  years,  and  then  returning  with  his 
family  to  California.     His  letter  of  resignation  is  as  follows : 

To   the   Rector,   Wardens   and   Vestrymen   of   Trinity    Parish, 
Princeton,  N.  J. 
Gentlemen 

I  would  most  respectfully  request  that  my  official  con- 
nection with  your  Parish  be  terminated  on  Saturday  the  nth 
day  of  May  1901.  In  thus  making  known  officially  my  desire  to 
return  to  California,  and  to  private  life,  I  wish  also  to  place  on 
record  my  keen  appreciation  of  and  gratitude  for  the  unvarying 
courtesy  and  kindness  which  I  have  ever  received  from  the 
first  day  I  came  to  Princeton  until  now  from  the  Rector  and 
the  officers  and  the  members  of  Trinity  Parish. 

Begging  your  favorable  consideration  of  my  request,  and 
with  earnest  prayers  for  the  prosperity  of  your  Parish 

I  am, 

Respectfully  yours 

C.  S.  Fackenthall. 

The  Vestry  accepted  his  resignation,  and  expressed  their  regret  in 
parting  with  him  in  resolutions  which  were  handsomely  engrossed,  and 
delivered  to  him.  Before  his  resignation,  Mrs.  Pyne  was  called  away 
from  earth  and  admitted  into  the  calm  of  Paradise  the  blest.  She  had 
just  finished  a  beautiful  home  near  the  residence  of  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Russell,  but  this  she  was  not  permitted  long  to  indwell,  God  having 
provided  something  better  for  her  in  "the  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens."  She  used  her  large  wealth  as  a  faithful 
steward,  aiding  many  a  public  institution  and  private  charity,  and 
always  hiding  her  good  deeds  under  the  cloak  of  a  sweet  humility. 


*5 

After  her  departure,  several  gentlemen,  chiefly  Messrs.  M.  Taylor 
Pyne,  Archibald  D.  Russell,  George  A.  Armour,  Junius  S.  Morgan  and 
Stephen  Palmer,  became  responsible  for  the  Curate's  salary;  and  the 
Rev.  Harvey  Officer,  Jr.,  was  soon  called  to  succeed  Mr.  Fackenthall 
as  "yoke  fellow"  of  the  Rector  "in  the  Gospel."  Mr.  Officer  rendered 
most  acceptable  service  to  the  students  and  the  general  congregation 
for  a  term  of  four  years.  He  succeeded  in  interesting  many  of  the 
students  in  Bible  study  through  the  classes  which  he  held,  and  by 
frequent  service  and  instruction  helped  to  deepen  and  enrich  the 
spiritual  life  of  many  in  the  Parish.  He  resigned  his  Curacy  in  order 
that  he  might  follow  what  he  esteemed  his  vocation  in  the  Order  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  of  which  he  is  now  a  professed  member. 

Mr.  Officer's  successor  was  the  Rev.  Ralph  B.  Pomeroy,  who  began 
his  work  in  the  autumn  of  1906  and  is  still  rendering  most  acceptable 
service,  both  to  the  academic  and  town  folk  of  the  Parish.  Besides  his 
large  work  among  the  students  of  the  University,  he  has  the  care  of  a 
town  club  of  boys  and  men,  with  various  attractive  features  intended 
to  counteract  the  allurements  of  the  street  and  the  saloon.  He  has 
given  much  attention  to  the  institutional  work  of  the  Parish,  and  is 
unwearied  in  his  endeavor  to  apply  Christianity  to  the  needs  of  our 
modern  social  life. 

In  the  year  1S98  the  Rector  and  his  wife  were  again  sent  abroad 
by  generous  friends' in  the  congregation,  and  they  were  absent  from 
the  Parish  for  a  term  of  three  months,  during  which  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Fackenthall  supplied  the  Rector's  place.  They  returned  in  time  for 
the  meeting  of  the  General  Convention  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in 
October. 

In  the  same  year  the  Rev.  Charles  Woodruff  Shields,  D.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  the  Harmony  of  Science  and  Revealed  Religion  in  Princeton 
University,  applied  for  Orders  in  our  church,  and  the  certificate  re- 
quired by  Canon  was  signed  by  the  Rector  and  Vestry  of  this  Parish. 
The  distinguished  Professor  was  ordered  Deacon  in  the  Chapel  of  the 
General  Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  and  was  ordained  Priest 
a  year  later,  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  the  Incarnation,  at  Garden 
City,  Long  Island :  the  Rector  presenting  the  candidate,  and  preaching 
the  sermon  on  both  occasions.  After  ordination  Dr.  Shields  continued 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  Professor  in  the  University,  but  his 
eloquent  voice  was  often  heard  in  the  pulpit  of  this  church  and  else- 
where. 

He  died  suddenly  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  on  August  26,  1904,  and 
his  burial  was  from  Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  on  August  29th.  The 
officiants  were  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  Scarborough,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  A.  B. 
Baker,  D.D.,  Rector  of  the  Parish,  the  Rev.  Harvey  Officer,  Curate,  and 
the  Rev.  Wilmer  P.   Bird  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York.     The  funeral 


66 

procession,  led  by  the  choir  of  Trinity  Church,  started  from  the  old 
Stockton  homestead,  in  which  Dr.  Shields  resided,  and  it  was  met  by 
the  clergy  at  the  door  of  the  church.  A  considerable  number  of  the 
faculty  of  Princeton  University  were  present  at  the  service,  among 
them  being  the  Rev.  Francis  L.  Patton,  D.D.,  the  late  president  of  the 
University.  The  faculty  evinced  their  respect  for  their  distinguished 
associate  by  wearing  academic  dress.  On  the  casket,  as  it  was  borne 
in  the  procession,  were  the  hood  of  the  Doctor  and  the  stole  of  the 
priest,  now  laid  aside  for  the  heavenly  rewards  of  consecrated  learning 
and  service.  The  interment  was  in  the  old  cemetery  which  holds  the 
remains  of  all  the  presidents  and  many  of  the  professors  of  the  Uni- 
versity. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Convocation  of  New  Brunswick  held  shortly 
after  the  following  minute  was  adopted : 

Since  the  last  meeting  of  our  Convocation  it  has  pleased 
God  to  remove  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors,  our  highly 
esteemed  friend  and  brother,  the  Rev.  Charles  Woodruff 
Shields,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  and  we  desire  on  our  first  assembling 
after  his  departure  to  express  and  put  on  record  our  deep 
sense  of  the  loss  we  have  sustained  in  his  death,  our  sympathy 
with  his  bereaved  family  and  friends,  and  our  thankfulness  to 
God  for  the  sweet  and  sacred  fellowship  we  were  permitted  to 
have  with  him  in  the  Communion  of  Christ's  Holy  Church.  He 
conscientiously  attended  the  meetings  of  our  Convocation  and 
he  was  greatly  endeared  to  us  by  his  cordiality,  courtesy,  gen- 
tleness, and  the  many  other  graces  of  his  mind  and  heart.  He 
frequently  addressed  the  Convocation  on  s.ome  important  sub- 
ject, and  we  shall  greatly  miss  his  inspiring  voice  and  presence, 
and  can  never  forget  with  what  elevation  of  thought  and  charm 
of  style,  his  theme  was  always  presented  to  our  minds.  He  was 
widely  known  and  greatly  honored  in  the  Church  and  learned 
world ;  and  we  are  deeply  grateful  for  the  eminent  service, 
which,  throughout  his  long  life,  he  was  permitted  to  render  to 
both  learning  and  religion.  For  thirty-eight  years  he  was  Pro- 
fessor in  the  University  of  Princeton,  and  occupied  the  chair  of 
the  Harmony  of  Science  and  Revealed  Religion.  His  lectures 
were  attended  chiefly  by  the  senior  students,  and  it  was  his 
aim,  in  his  entire  course,  to  show  them  that  there  was  no  cause 
for  hostility  between  exact  knowledge — which  is  science — and 
revealed  truth  in  religion  :  that  both  are  logically  related,  and 
when  brought  together  and  properly  adjusted,  will  prove  to  be 
but  "opposite  halves  of  the  same  rounded  whole  of  truth,  sup- 
porting segments  of  the  same  rising  arch  of  knowledge,  har- 
monious interests,  wedded 

"  'Like  perfect  music  unto  noble  words.' " 

None  can  estimate  the  value  of  his  labors  in  the  academic 
chair,  or  tell  how  much  they  contributed  to  the  reconciliation 
of  the  alienated  friends,  and  helped  to  preserve  the  faith  of 
thoughtful  young  men  from  overthrow,  in  the  troublous  con- 
flicts of  these  modern  days. 


67 

Throughout  his  ministerial  life  Dr.  Shields  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  cause  of  Church  Unity,  and  we  shall  long  remem- 
ber his  addresses  on  this,  his  favorite  theme,  and  the  ardor  of 
his  longing  that  the  time  might  soon  be  brought  to  birth  when 
separated  brethren  shall  come  together  on  the  basis  of  the 
Lambeth  Articles,  and  be  organically  connected  in  "the  United 
Church  of  the  United  States."  Our  departed  brother  was  also 
an  accomplished  liturgical  scholar,  and  long  before  his  ordina- 
tion in  the  Church,  he  had  made  a  thorough  study  of  the  origin 
and  principles  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  He  was  versed 
in  many  branches  of  learning,  and  his  scholarship  was  always 
cultured  as  well  as  broad  and  accurate.  His  mind  was  pol- 
ished, his  tastes  and  feelings  were  refined,  and  he  ever  exhib- 
ited the  temper  and  traits  of  the  truly  cultivated  man.  He  was 
the  polite  scholar,  and  was  not  only  a  genuine  but  an  amiable 
Christian.  He  has  left  many  literary  monuments  by  which  his 
name  and  memory  will  be  preserved,  but  his  best  monument  is 
his  life  and  example,  the  personal  service  which  he  rendered  to 
the  Church  and  the  world,  and  the  indestructible  affections 
which  he  has  awakened  in  the  hearts  of  his  brethren. 

For  all  that  he  was  and  still  is  to  us  who  are  left  behind ; 
for  all  that  he  did  for  God  and  his  fellow  men ;  that  he  was 
raised  up  to  be  "a  choice  vessel  of  God's  grace  and  a  light  of 
the  world  in  his  generation,"  we  yield  most  high  praise  and 
most  hearty  thanks  to  God ;  and  we  pray  that  we  with  him,  and 
all  the  faithful  departed,  may  at  last  have  "our  perfect  consum- 
mation and  bliss,  both  in  body  and  soul,  in  God's  eternal  and 
everlasting  glory." 

Alfred  B.  Baker, 
Wm.  Strother  Jones, 
Committee. 

A  service  in  memory  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Shields  was  held  in  the 
church  on  Friday  evening,  December  gth.  Bishop  Potter  of  New 
York  was  the  preacher,  and  his  sermon  was  a  most  appropriate  and 
beautiful  tribute  to  the  character  and  life-work  of  the  distinguished 
Professor  and  Priest.  It  was  marked  by  many  skillful  and  delicate 
touches  which  revealed  a  master  hand.  The  choir  was  in'  full  sympathy 
with  the  occasion  and  rendered  canticle,  anthem  and  hymn  in  a  very 
effective  way.  With  the  permission  of  Bishop  Potter,  extracts  from 
this  sermon  are  printed  in  the  Appendix. 

In  1895  occurred  the  death  of  Mrs.  Catherine  M.  Johnson,  an  aged 
communicant,  confirmed  late  in  life,  but  devotedly  attached  to  the 
church  she  learned  to  love  in  her  closing  years.  Her  son,  Henry 
P.  Johnson,  had  passed  away  three  years  before. 

Among  the  deaths  in  1899  was  that  of  Dr.  William  J.  Lytle,  one 
of  the  most  skillful  and  successful  physicians  of  the  Borough,  and 
widely  known  through  all  the  surrounding  country.  His  practice  was 
large,  yet  he  never  declined  a  call  to  visit  the  poor,  and  he  often 
attended  them  without  recompense.     He  was  not  often  able  to  attend 


church,  but  in  his  last  illness  he  received  the  Christian's  viaticum  and 
passed  away  supported  by  the  Christian's  faith. 

In  May,  1899,  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  was  held  for  the 
first  time  in  Princeton.  We  print  a  few  extracts  from  the  Churchman's 
notice  of  the  meeting : 

The  annual  convention,  which  assembled  in  Trinity  Church, 
on  Tuesday  morning,  May  9,  called  together  the  largest  gath- 
ering of  the  clergy  and  laity  yet  reported  at  an  annual  meeting. 
The  convention  opened  with  a  celebration  of  the  Holy  Euchar- 
ist, Bishop  Scarborough  being  the  celebrant,  assisted  by  the 
Rev.  Professor  Charles  W.  Shields,  who  read  the  Epistle,  and 
the  Rev.  C.  M.  Perkins,  who  read  the  Gospel.  The  sermon  was 
by  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Rodrick,  and  was  an  eloquent  summary  of 
the  truths  established  by  the  ascension  of  Christ ;  the  certainty 
of  the  heavenly  life,  the  fact  that  man  is  to  enjoy  that  life  in 
his  whole  nature,  body,  soul  and  spirit,  and  the  unbroken 
carrying  on  of  earthly  relations,  the  whole  life  here  and  beyond 
being  continuous. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  service  the  convention  was  called 
to  order  by  the  bishop.  The  usual  committees  were  appointed, 
and  the  Rev.  E.  K.  Smith  was  re-elected  secretary,  and  the 
Rev.  H.  K.  Smith  appointed  assistant. 

At  three  o'clock  the  bishop  read  his  annual  address.  He 
said  that  in  the  past  year  the  map  of  the  world  had  changed.  It 
was  but  a  year  since  the  victory  of  Admiral  Dewey  at  Manila, 
which  came  just  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  convention,  and  now 
we  seemed  certainly  at  the  close  of  the  operations  growing  out 
of  the  war.  There  were  yet  difficulties  to  overcome,  but  those 
who  are  still  in  opposition  would,  in  due  time,  the  bishop  felt, 
put  gratitude  in  place  of  contest  and  accept  the  hand  stretched 
out  to  uplift  and  save.  He  felt  that  the  great  results  of  the 
war  had  been  the  opening  of  new  lands  to  the  highest  Christian 
civilization  and  the  drawing  together  in  closer  bonds  of  the  two 
great  English-speaking  nations  in  a  union  that  will  make  for 
peace  the  world  over. 

In  ecclestiastical  affairs  also  the  past  year  had  made  history. 
The  address  referred  to  the  ritual  controversy  in  England, 
and  pointed  out  that  the  establishment  was  the  main  cause  of 
the  trouble,  and  that  if  the  connection  between  Church  and  State 
could  be  broken  without  loss  of  endowments  dis-establishment 
would  be  an  unmixed  blessing.  The  bishop,  after  summariz- 
ing the  work  of  the  late  General  Convention,  expressed  regret 
that  on  the  burning:  question  of  the  remarriage  of  divorced 
persons  no  conclusion  had  been  reached.  The  evils  of  divorce 
nave  grown,  he  said,  to  such  an  extent  that  unless  it  is 
checked  the  very  foundations  of  society  will  be  weakened 
and  marriage  will  become  but  a  temporary  bargain.  Recent 
scandalous  events  in  what  is  called  higher  society  lead  us  to 
pray  for  that  happy  day  when  the  Church  shall  make  its  stand 
more  firm  and  determine  to  close  the  doors  to  the  remarriage 
.  of  all  divorced  persons,  innocent  or  guilty,  under  any  and  every 
circumstance.  Separation  may  sometimes  be  necessary,  but  the 
remarriage  of  divorced  persons  is  a  thing  abhorrent.     Even  now 


69 

no  power  can  compel  a  clergyman  to  perform  such  a  marriage, 
though  the  canon  in  one  special  case  gives  the  permission. 

The  address,  after  referring  to  the  death  of  Bishop  Wil- 
liams and  others  in  the  Church  at  large,  recorded  the  decease 
of  four  diocesan  clergy,  the  Rev.  Gustavus  M.  Murray,  Benj. 
Franklin,  D.  D.,  Wm.  B.  Otis  and  John  R.  Matthews.  Only 
twelve  clergy  remain  who  were  in  the  diocese  when  his 
episcopate  began,  and  of  these  but  half  a  dozen  are  in  active 
work.  The  bishop  spoke  of  the  fact  that  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Purification  next  year  he  would  complete  the  25th  year  of  his 
episcopate,  though  he  asked  there  be  no  public  celebration  of  the 
event.  In  these  years  the  growth  of  the  Church  has  far  ex- 
ceeded relatively  the  increase  in  the  population  of  the  State. 

At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  session  the  convention  ad- 
journed to  accept  the  invitation  of  President  Patton,  of  Prince- 
ton University,  to  visit  the  college  buildings.  At  the  university 
they  were  received  by  Dr.  Shields,  on  behalf  of  the  president 
and  in  a  graceful  address  made  welcome  to  the  college  pre- 
cincts. Dr.  Shields  spoke  of  the  connection  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  the  formation  of  the  college,  in  the  days  when 
both  the  Westminster  Confession  and  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles 
(in  Latin)  formed  a  oart  of  the  collegiate  course,  and  laugh- 
ingly said  that  one  might  trace  the  beginning  of  the  present 
elective  system  to  the  freedom  that  was  then  given  the  students 
to  choose  which  theological  summary  they  would  study.  More 
seriously,  the  professor  pointed  out  the  active  part  taken  by 
churchmen  in  the  work  of  the  University  from  that  day  to 
the  present,  when  the  latest  gift  the  splendid  new  library 
building,  came  from  communicants  of  the  Church.  The 
bishop  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Baker  responded,  and  the  delegates 
were  then  taken  about  the  buildings  on  an  interesting  tour  of 
inspection. 

In  the  evening  a  missionary  service  was  held.  Reports  were 
read  of  the  work  of  the  Christian  Knowledge  Society,  and  the 
Woman's  Auxiliary.  Dean  Perkins,  of  the  convocation  of 
Burlington,  presented  his  report,  and  Dean  Baker  also  presented 
a  report  for  the  convocation  of  New  Brunswiek.  Missionary 
addresses  were  given  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  E.  J.  Knight  and 
James  Stoddard. 

On  Wednesday  morning,  the  convention  having  re- 
assembled, the  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania  spoke  on  the  subject 
of  missions.     His  address  received  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Glazebrook,  resolutions  were  passed 
congratulating  Bishop  Scarborough  on  his  quarter  of  a  century 
of  service,  expressing  the  love  of  the  clergy  and  laity  for  their 
diocesan,  urging  him  to  permit  a  public  service  to  be  held  in 
honor  of  the  occasion,  and  asking  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  complete,  if  possible,  the  endowment  fund  of 
the  diocese  to  mark  the  anniversary. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  :  Standing  Committee : 
The  Rev.  Messrs.  Alfred  B.  Baker,  D  .D.,  Charles  M.  Perkins, 
H.  H.  Oberly  and  R.  G.  Moses ;  and  Messrs.  R.  S.  Conover, 
J.  B.  Woodward,  E.  R.  ^hubrick  and  Howard  Richards. 
Treasurer,  C.   E.   Merritt. 

Trustees  of  the  Missionary  Fund :    Dr.  J.  H.  Pugh.     Trus- 


70 

tee  of  Church  Property,  Dr.  Pugh.  Committee  on  Episcopal 
Residence  :  Samuel  K.  Wilson,  J.  B.  Woodward,  J.  H.  Bruere. 
Missionary  Council :    The  Rev.  E.  J.  Knight  and  James  Parker. 

The  greater  part  of  the  day  was  occupied  in  the  discussion 
of  the  report  of  the  committee  oh  legislation.  This  committee, 
with  a  similar  one  from  the  diocese  of  Newark,  was  appointed 
to  codify  the  legislative  acts  affecting  the  Church  and  ar- 
range new  legislation.  Upon  investigation,  the  committee 
found  that  the  various  sections  of  the  Religious  Societies  Act, 
together  with  the  different  amendments  thereto  made  from  time 
to  time,  which  more  or  less  directly  affect  the  Church,  are  now 
nearly  one  hundred  in  number,  some  of  them  so  conflicting 
with  each  other  in  their  provisions  as  to  render  their  clear  and 
certain  interpretation  extremely  difficult,  in  consequence  of 
which,  it  was  found  that  while  one  interpretation  thereof  pre- 
vailed in  one  diocese,  another,  and  directly  opposite  one,  pre- 
vailed in  the  other.  The  committee  therefore  drew  up  an 
entirely  new  act,  which  with  slight  changes,  after  prolonged 
discussion,  was  adopted  by  the  convention.  It  not  only  sys- 
tematizes the  old  law,  but  makes  important  new  provisions, 
which,  if  adopted  by  the  Newark  diocese,  the  Legislature  will 
be  asked  to  enact. 

The  remainder  of  the  session  of  the  convention  was  spent 
in  the  passing  of  certain  amendments  to  the  constitution  and 
canons,  and  in  listening  to  the  report  of  a  committee  em- 
powered to  arrange  a  plan  for  mutual  fire  insurance  com- 
mittee for  the  parishes. 

In  the  Trinity  Record  of  May  1899  occurs  this  paragraph : 

Mrs.  Telfair  Hodgson  has  presented  to  the  Church  a  Litany 
Fald  Stool,  in  memory  of  Mrs.  Emily  Charlotte  Cuyler.  Mrs. 
Cuyler's  children  have  also  presented  a  window,  in  memory  of 
their  mother,  which  is  now  being  put  in  place  in  the  north 
transept  of  the  Church.  This  window  was  designed  and  exe- 
cuted by  C.  E.  Kemp  of  London,  England,  the  artist  who 
designed  the  window  in  the  south  transept,  in  memory  of  Mrs. 
Alice  Lippincott.  In  the  upper  tracery  is  a  picture  representing 
the  angels  appearing  to  the  shepherds.  The  subject  in  the 
lower  left-hand  panel  is  the  Annunciation  and  that  in  the 
right  the  Nativity. 

Mrs.  Cuyler  was  a  daughter  of  Mr.  James  Potter,  and  al- 
though not  resident  in  Princeton  since  her  marriage,  she  was 
always  interested  in  the  Parish  in  which  her  early  life  was 
spent.  Her  memorial  is  not  only  in  the  window,  but  in  the 
hearts  of  her  many  friends  who  cherish  the  remembrance 
of  her  amiable  disposition  and  gentle  traits,  combined  with 
much  strength  of  character.  Two  daughters  have  since  joined 
her  in  the  better  land.  A  daughter  and  son  survive  her,  the 
latter  Mr.  John  Potter  Cuyler  now  residing  in  Princeton.  He 
was  married  on  Oct.  19,  1898,  to  Juniana  Stevens  Baker, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Lewis  Carter  and  Mary  Rachel  Baker. 

The    Trinity   Record   of   November    1900   contained   the    following 
notice  of  the  resignation  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Parish : 


It  is  a  matter  of  very  general  regret  that  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover 
has  felt  it  his  duty,  because  of  continued  ill  health,  to  resign 
the  Treasurership  of  the  Parish.  Bayard  Stockton,  Esq.,  was 
elected,  at  the  last  vestry  meeting,  to  fill  Mr.  Conover's  place. 
At  this  meeting  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton, 
accept  with  much  regret  the  resignation  of  Francis  S.  Conover 
as  Treasurer  of  the  Parish,  and  they  deem  it  proper  to  express 
upon  the  minutes  of  their  proceedings  their  appreciation  of  the 
long  and  faithful  service  which  he  has  rendered  to  the  Parish. 

Mr.  Conover  was  appointed  Treasurer  in  the  year  1866, 
and  has  served  in  that  office  continuously  ever  since.  When 
he  first  assumed  the  duties  of  the  financial  management  of  the 
Church's  affairs  he  found  the  accounts  in  a  most  unsatisfactory 
condition,  and  the  income  for  some  time  past  insufficient  for 
the  proper  support  of  the  Parish.  By  careful,  economical  and 
business-like  management  he  reduced  the  affairs  of  the  Parish 
to  a  system,  and  by  prudent  and  painstaking  oversight  of  all 
expenditures,  as  well  as  strict  attention  to  all  collections  of 
income  he  has  enabled  the  Vestry  to  keep  out  of  debt,  and  to 
largely  improve  the  material  condition  of  the  Church  property. 
As  the  transactions  of  his  office  have  enlarged  and  increased, 
he  has  always  been  equal  to  their  management,  and  has  not 
relaxed  in  the  least  his  watchful  care  to  guard  against  waste 
or  extravagance. 

His  books  have  always  been  models  of  neatness  and  ac- 
curacy, and  there  was  never  a  time  during  the  period  of  his 
long  service  when  he  could  not  tell  the  Vestry  in  a  moment 
the  exact  financial  condition  of  the  Parish. 

Such  service  as  his  has  been,  the  Vestry  recognize  as  an 
offering  of  love  to  his  Master,  and,  arduous  as  its  labors  have 
often  proved,  they  have  carried  with  them  their  own  reward. 

Mr.  Conover's  burial  was  on  April  II,  1901.  On  the  Sun- 
day after,  the  Rector  referred  to  his  life  and  character  in  a 
sermon  the  substance  of  which  is  printed  among  "the  mem- 
orials." By  his  last  will  and  testament  he  left  $500  to  the 
Parish. 

Among  the  losses  of  the  year  1900  was  that  of  the  Hon.  John 
Potter  Stockton  who  died  at  the  age  of  74  on  January  21st,  and  was 
buried  from  the  Parish  Church  on  January  24th.  Mr.  Stockton  was 
the  second  son  of  Commodore  Robert  F.  Stockton,  and  he  in- 
herited the  best  traits  of  his  distinguished  ancestors.  He  was  cour- 
teous, generous,  gentle  in  demeanor,  taste  and  feeling  and  had  a  mind 
"tempered  to  finest  issues"  by  Heaven's  favoring  touch.  He  resided 
after  his  marriage  in  the  mansion  now  known  as  Allison  House,  and 
which  is  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  George  Allison  Armour.  In  the 
year  1857  he  was  appointed  United  States  Minister  to  Rome  by  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  and  he  left  Princeton  in  fulfillment  of  that  mission. 
Returning  to  the  States  on  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  he 
practiced  law,  chiefly  in  his  native  state,  and  his  eminent  legal  abilities 
caused  many  who  had  important  "causes"  to  seek  the  benefit  of  his 


72 

services.  In  the  year  1865  he  was  made  United  States  Senator  from 
his  native  state,  and  of  that  distinguished  body  he  was  a  member  till 
1866,  and  afterwards,  from  1869  to  1875.  In  1877  he  was  appointed  the 
Attorney  General  of  the  state,  and  in  that  office  he  continued  till  his 
death.  He  resided  at  different  periods  of  his  life  in  Trenton,  Washing- 
ton, Philadelphia  and  New  York,  but  his  heart  often  fondly  turned 
to  Princeton,  and  he  came  back  to  it  when  he  could,  to  spend  his 
closing  years  amid  the  scenes  and  friends  of  early  days.  On  his  return 
he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Vestry,  and  he  attended  its  meetings 
whenever  this  was  possible.  He  was  devoutly  disposed  to  worship, 
and  always  wanted  the  services  of  the  church  conducted  in  a  reverential 
way.  He  once  remarked  to  the  Rector  that  he  did  so  much  feel  the 
need  of  further  religious  instruction  as  of  the  the  ability  to  prostrate 
himself  in  adoration  before  his  Maker.  His  daughter,  Julia  Romana, 
was  married  in  the  church  on  January  29,  1889,  to  Mr.  Richard  Collier 
St.  John;  and  on  November  12,  1905,  she  was  borne  from  the  same 
church  to  her  grave.  Father  and  daughter  together  lie  in  the  family 
plot  in  the  Princeton  Cemetery  where  so  many  of  their  distinguished 
progenitors  sleep  in  peace. 

In  June  1901  the  College  Class  of  which  the  Rector  is  a  member  had 
a  "reunion"  on  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  its  graduation.  There 
were  seventeen  members  of  the  Class  present  on  the  occasion,  among 
whom  were  its  President,  Vice  Chancellor  John  R.  Emery,  and  its 
Secretary,  Leroy  Anderson,  since  deceased. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Baccalaureate  Sunday,  the  Class  in  a  body 
attended  the  evensong  at  Trinity  Church,  and  listened  to  an  address 
of  which  the  following  is  the  substance :  It  is  not  my  intention  to  pro- 
long our  evensong  by  adding  sermons  or  addresses  to  the  worship  of 
this  quiet  hour,  but  I  must  be  allowed  this  afternoon  to  say  a  timely 
word.  The  closing  of  our  University  with  which  our  Parish  is  becom- 
ing more  and  more  closely  associated  every  year  will  carry  out  of 
Princeton  a  considerable  part  of  our  congregation,  and  on  those 
who  stay  behind  the  responsibility  will  fall  of  maintaining  the  Parish 
work,  throughout  the  heated  term.  Permit  me  to  remind  those  who  go 
away  that  the  activities  of  the  Parish,  although  necessarily  lessened, 
are  not  altogether  intermitted  in  the  summer  months,  and  that  funds 
will  be  needed  to  carry  on  our  continued  charitable,  missionary,  and 
Sunday-school  work.  It  would  lighten  the  burden  of  those  who  re- 
main at  the  post  of  duty,  if  the  departing  ones  would  leave  behind  them 
a  sum  equal  at  least  to  what  they  are  accustomed  to  contribute  to  Parish 
purposes  while  here,  and  this  will  be  applied  to  such  necessities  as 
the  time  will  surely  bring  to  birth.  I  trust  the  vacation  may  be  a  time 
of  real  rest  and  refreshment  to  those  who  go  away,  and  surely  they 
will  not  forget  that  there  is  no  true  rest  or  recreation   for   a   human 


73 

spirit,  apart  from  the  God  who  framed  it,  and  who  alone  can  re- 
habilitate it,  and  recruit  its  exhausted  energy  and  strength.  In  a  well 
spent  vacation  there  will  be  no  interruption  of  the  commune  of  the  tired 
spirit  with  the  Author  of  its  life.  There  may  indeed  be  a  turning  to 
those  things  which  most  entirely  divert  the  mind  and  get  it  out  of  the 
ruts  in  which  it  has  been  moving,  but  this  will  not  mean  an  abandon- 
ment of  religious  habit  or  of  the  practice  of  devotion.  It  will  not  lead 
to  laxity  in  Church-going  or  inattention  to  secret  Christian  duty; 
neither  will  it  suggest  the  casting  away  of  the  Sacred  Book  for  the 
novel  or  magazine,  nor  the  substitution  of  a  mountain  breeze  for 
the  breath  of  Pentecost.  That  vacation  is  always  most  truly  refreshing 
in  which  we  look  continually  for  the  inspirations  of  the  Divine  Spirit, 
and  profoundly  feel  the  truth  of  the  Psalmist's  words,  'All  my  fresh 
springs  are  in  Thee.' 

"I  must  add  another  word.  As  I  look  down  upon  the  faces  which 
are  upturned  to  mine  in  this  evening  sunlight,  I  am  reminded  that  this  is 
a  time  for  reunions  as  well  as  separations,  and  that  for  some  of  us  who 
are  gathered  in  this  Church  there  will  now  be  a  renewing  of  the  very 
hallowed  bond  which  was  formed  in  the  days  of  college  life.  Perhaps 
there  are  no  ties  more-  lasting,  no  friendships  more  sacred  than  those 
which  are  formed  in  those  happy  days.  The  members  of  a  graduating 
class  are  soon  scattered — in  these  days  when  seas  and  continents  are  so 
easily  traversed  they  may  be  found  in  almost  every  land — but  wherever 
they  go,  they  carry  the  faces  of  their  classmates  stamped  indelibly  upon 
the  tablets  of  the  heart,  and  guarded  as  sacredly  as  the  ancient  exiles 
kept  the  household  gods  within  their  mantle's  secret  folds.  Forty  years 
of  vicissitude  have  widely  dispersed  the  members  of  our  Class,  but  tell 
me,  brothers  of  Sixty-One,  need  we  do  anything  but  look  within  to  find 
each  other's  image  in  the  sacred  treasure-house  of  memory,  undimmed 
by  the  lapse  of  years,  preserved  in  all  the  distinctness  of  the  fresh  im- 
print made  in  life's  early  day ! 

"It  has  been  my  lot  to  abide  in  Princeton  almost  ever  since  the 
graduation  of  the  Class,  and  may  I  not,  as  a  brother  who  has  always 
staid  at  home,  extend  a  welcome  to  those  who,  after  forty  years  of 
wandering,  are  coming  back  to  the  old  roof  and  altar  fire?  Most 
welcome  are  you,  dear  brothers,  to  the  hospitalities  of  the  old  home, 
and  your  return  will  cause  a  far  greater  joy  to  the  old  Mother's  heart 
than  can  come  from  the  abiding  of  those  who  have  never  gone  away. 
I  do  not  doubt  that  those  who  have  come  back  to  Princeton,  after  a 
lengthened  absence,  are  greatly  impressed  by  the  changes  which  have 
come  over  the  well-remembered  scenes.  Nothing  looks  quite  as  it 
used  to  in  our  college  days.  Most  of  the  old  buildings  in  the  campus 
have  disappeared.  Many  of  the  landmarks  in  the  town  have  been 
swept  away.     But  one  of  the  professors  who  were  in  the  faculty  when 


74 

we  were  here  is  still  alive.  Our  own  ranks  have  been  greatly  thinned 
by  the  darts  of  death.  We  come  together  a  broken  and  shattered  band, 
and  we  sadly  count  over  the  names  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  life's 
battle,  and  yet  have  died  with  honor  in  the  service  laid  upon  them  by 
their  God.  But,  surely,  we  may  remind  ourselves  in  this  sacred  place 
that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  the  band  is  still  unbroken ;  that  the 
living  and  the  dead  are  still  united  in  the  bonds  of  a  spiritual  fellowship 
which  can  never  be  destroyed.  True  friendship  never  dies ;  the  affec- 
tions of  the  heart  are  indestructible,  and  'he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God 
abideth  forever.'  Life  is  prophetic.  The  happiness  of  the  early  fleeting 
days  is  anticipative  of  a  more  abiding  joy  in  the  days  to  come;  the  loves 
and  friendships  of  the  earthly  life  are  a  pledge  of  the  blessed  unions 
and  reunions  of  the  eternal  state. 

"And  so  with  the  prevision  of  immortality  distinct  in  heart  and 
mind,  we  greet  each  other;  not  with  the  words  of  the  old  Roman  sol- 
dier, Morituri  Salutamus,  but  with  the  words  of  the  Christian  con- 
querors: Ressurrecturi  Salve!    Viventes  in  Sceculorum  Ave! 

"Our  brotherhood  in  Christ  will  last  forevermore. 
"Dear  comrades,  scattered  far  and  wide, 
Send  from  their  homes  their  kindly  word, 
And  dearer  ones,  unseen,  unheard, 
Smile  on  us  from  some  heavenly  star. 
For  life  and  death  with  God  are  one ; 
Unchanged  by  seeming  change,  His  care 
And  love  are  round  us  here  and  there ; 
He  breaks  no  thread  His  hand  has  spun, 
Soul  touches  soul — the  muster  roll 
Of  life  eternal  has  no  gaps  ; 
And  after  all  the  long  term's  laose 
Our  college  ranks  are  closed  and  whole. 
Hail  and  farewell !     We  go  our  way 
Where  shadows  end,  we  trust  in  light. 
The  Star  that  ushers  in  the  night 
Is  herald  also  of  the  day. 

"Our  college  life  was  a  preparation  for  coming  work.  May  not  this 
reunion  also  help  prepare  us  for  the  part  of  life's  work  which  still  re- 
mains, and  out  of  it  may  we  not  get  a  little  strength  and  courage  for 
the  unfinished  toil  and  task?  "God  grant  that  it  may  indeed  be  so,  and 
that  when  the  work  is  done,  no  one  of  us  may  fail  of  the  faithful 
laborer's  reward." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  service,  the  members  of  the  Class,  with 
their  wives  present,  came  to  the  Rectory  for  a  quiet  tea. 

In  the  year  of  1901  a  wave  of  great  sorrow  crept  over  the  land 
when  it  was  learned  that  the  hand  of  the  assassin  had  been  raised 
against  another  of  our  chief  magistrates,  William  McKinley.  There 
had  been  nothing  in  the  character  or  career  of  the  noble  President  to 


75 

provoke  this  parricidal  crime,  and  it  was  everywhere  felt  that  the 
murderous  shot  had  been  aimed  not  only  at  him,  but  at  the  whole 
nation  which  he  represented.  Every  citizen  felt  as  if  he  had  been 
struck.  But  there  were  no  signs  of  panic  within  our  borders.  The 
national  heart  was  strong  in  faith;  and  had  confidence  that  the 
stability  of  our  institutions  was  in  no  way  imperilled  by  this  dreadful 
deed  of  a  fanatic  and  frenzied  man.  The  Rector  on  the  Sunday 
following  dwelt  on  some  of  the  lessons  of  the  hour,  and  presented 
reasons  why  the  congregation  should  share  in  this  general  trustful 
feeling,  and  fall  back  on  Him  who 

"Had  been  our  strength  and  stay 
In  many  a  dark  and  dreary  day 
Of  sorrows  and  reverses." 

In  the  year  1902  a  committee  on  church  enlargement  was  appointed 
by  the  Vestry  and  the  committee  was  afterwards  enlarged,  and  clothed 
with  a  full  power  of  action.  Its  members  are  now  Messrs.  Bayard 
Stockton,  M.  Taylor  Pyne,  Archibald  D.  Russell,  George  A.  Armour, 
Junius  S.  Morgan,  and  the  Rector.  Various  difficulties  have  been  en- 
countered in  their  consideration  of  the  subject,  but  they  still  have  it 
under  advisement,  and  the  hope  is  generally  entertained  that  a  practi- 
cable plan  may  soon  be  found,  and  carried  into  effect. 

On  March  6,  1905,  James  Dundas  Lippincott,  a  devoted  friend 
of  the  Parish  and  for  many  years  its  Junior  Warden,  was  released 
from  the  pains  of  a  sudden  fatal  sickness,  and  called  to  enter  on  the 
eternal  rest.  Although  resident  in  Philadelphia  during  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  year,  he  was  often  in  Princeton,  and  he  used  to  say  his 
heart  was  always  here.  He  was  seldom  absent  from  our  church  ser- 
vices on  Easter  Day,  All  Saints  Day  and  other  great  festivals  of  the 
church's  year.  His  death  was  greatly  mourned  by  our  congregation 
and  the  community  at  large,  and  the  Vestry  gave  suitable  expression 
of  their  feeling  at  their  own  and  the  common  loss  by  a  minute  spread 
upon  the  records  and  published  in  the  church  papers.  This  is  as 
follows : 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  God  to  remove  from  these  earthly 
scenes  our  esteemed  friend  and  fellow  Vestryman,  James 
Dundas  Lippincott,  we  desire  at  this  our  first  meeting  after  his 
departure  to  record  our  deep  sense  of  loss  and  to  express  our 
sincere  appreciation  of  his  gentle,  kindly  and  Christian  qualities 
which  endeared  him  to  us  all  during  the  whole  period  of  our 
association  in  this  Vestry.  For  thirty-four  years  he  filled  the 
office  of  Junior  Warden,  giving  careful  and  valuable  attention 
to  his  duties,  and  always  working  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
Parish.  During  his  lifetime  he  was  its  constant  benefactor,  and 
at  his  death  he  left  behind  him  such  generous  provisions  as  to 
enable  it  to  continue  the  work  he  had  sustained  while  living. 


76 

Although  the  parting  with  him  fills  our  hearts  with  sorrow, 
we  are  yet  thankful  that  it  was  our  privilege  to  pass  so  many 
years  of  joint  service  with  him,  and  that  he  has  left  us  an 
example  of  modest  and  unaffected  Christian  character  and 
fidelity  to  duty.  We  offer  to  his  bereaved  wife  and  to  his 
relatives  and  friends  the  assurance  of  our  sincere  sympathy, 
and  of  our  prayers  that  heavenly  consolation  may  be  ministered 
to  them  in  their  affliction. 

The  Rector's  reference  to  the  deceased,  on  the  Sunday  after  his 
burial  was  printed  in  the  Trinity  Record  and  the  Princeton  Press.  In 
his  last  will  and  testament  Mr.  Lippincott  bequeathed  to  the  Parish 
the  sum  of  $21,000.  The  terms  of  the  bequest  are  as  follows :  I  give 
and  bequeath  to  the  Rector  and  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton, 
the  sum  of  $21,000,  now  held  for  me  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Hugh  H. 
Hamill  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  said  amount  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Rector 
and  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  to  be  invested  and  held  in  trust,  and  the 
income  to  be  used,  as  they,  the  Vestry  deem  advisable  for  the  said 
Trinity  Church  or  Parish,  and  to  be  called  the  Memorial  Fund  of  the 
Thomas  Potter  family." 

Some  years  before  Mr.  Lippincott  gave  the  Parish  the  sum  of 
twelve  thousand  dollars  for  the  support  of  a  church  school  bearing  the 
name  of  his  deceased  wife,  Alive  Lippincott ;  but  he  provided  that  if  at 
any  time  the  congregation  deemed  it  wise  to  discontinue  the  school, 
the  income  should  be  used  by  the  Vestry  for  any  other  parochial  purpose 
to  which  they  might  see  fit  to  apply  it. 

Two  other  bequests  were  made  to  the  Parish  in  wills  admitted 
to  probate  respectively  in  the  years  1904  and  1905.  One  was  from 
Mrs.  Hanna  Haley,  a  devout  communicant,  trained  in  the  Church  of 
England,  in  her  early  days,  but  transferring  to  the  American  Church 
the  loyalty  and  love  she  had  felt  for  her  spiritual  mother  across  the 
seas.  The  Trinity  Record  for  December  1904  contained  the  following 
notice  of  bequest :  By  the"  will  of  Mrs.  Hanna  Haley  recently  deceased, 
the  sum  of  $500  was  left  to  the  Parish  for  the  increase  of  the  fund  for 
the  purchase  of  a  chime  of  bells.  Mrs.  Haley  was  an  English  woman, 
and  her  early  associations  were  with  the  chimes  of  her  motherland  that 

"Peal  from  tower  and  Gothic  pile 
Where  hymn  and  swelling  anthems  fill 
The  dear  Cathedral  aisle." 

She  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  sentiment  of  Bishop  Coxe, 
expressed  in  his  "Christian  Ballads." 

"The  chimes,  the  chimes  of  motherland, 
Of  England  green  and  old, 
That  out  from  fane  and  ivied  tower 
A  thousand  years  have  tolled ; 


77 

How  glorious  must  their  music  be 
As  breaks  the  hallowed  day, 
And  calleth  with  a  seraph's  voice 
A  nation  up  to  pray ; 

Those  chimes  that  tell  a  thousand  tales — 
Sweet  tales  of  olden  time, 
And  ring  a  thousand  memories 
At  vesper  and  at  prime ! 

At  bridal  and  at  burial 

For  cottager  and  king, 

Those  chimes— those  glorious  Christian  chimes, 

How  blessedly  they  ring  !  " 

It  is  much  to  be  wished  that  a  chime  should  sometime  be  put  in  our 
church  tower — so  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose — and  after  the 
enlarging  of  the  church,  which  is  an  immediate  necessity,  we  ought  to 
direct  our  efforts  to  this  most  desirable  end. 

The  Trinity  Record  of  September  1905  contained  the  following 
notice  of  the  other  bequest : 

"By  the  will  of  Mrs.  Anna  Amelia  Benham  who  died  on 
April  25th,  1905,  $500  were  bequeathed  to  the  music  fund  of 
the  Parish  and  $500  to  the  general  endowment  fund.  The 
legacy  to  the  music  fund  is  a  memorial  to  her  son,  William 
LeRoy  Benham,  who  died  in  1891,  and  who,  during  his  boy- 
hood was  a  member  of  our  choir.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that 
the  executors  have  been  unable  to  pay  this  legacy,  yet  if  nothing 
is  realized  from  it,  the  good  intention  of  the  pious  woman  may 
still  be  accepted,  and  the  treasure  be  laid  up  for  her  on  high." 

A  very  dignified  and  beautiful  bishop's  chair  has  been  presented 
to  the  church  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  M.  Taylor  Pyne.  It  was  made  by  Geis- 
sler  of  New  York  City,  and  below  the  seat  is  the  inscription,  "In  loving 
memory  of  Robert  Stockton  Pyne."  The  inscribed  name  is  that  of  the 
second  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pyne,  who  died  on  February  the  25th,  1903, 
in  Pomfret  School,  Connecticut.  He  was  a  youth  of  gentle  disposition 
and  guileless  spirit  and  his  amiable  traits  won  the  love  of  all  who 
knew  him.  He  was  born  in  New  York  City  May  27,  1883,  baptised  at 
Christ  Church,  Riverdale,  New  York  City,  in  August  of  that  year,  was 
confirmed  at  Christ  Church,  Pomfret,  in  April,  1900.  He  was  preparing 
at  Pomfret  for  Princeton  University,  and  when  called  away  was  almost 
ready  to  enter  on  his  academic  career ;  but  unerring  wisdom  had  some- 
thing better  for  him,  and  ordered  that  the  bright  promise  of  his  youth 
should  be  fulfilled  in  ways  far  greater  than  we  know.  He  was  buried 
from  Drumthwacket  on  February  28th  and  was  laid  in  the  family  plot 
in  the  Princeton  Cemetery. 

In  the  same  year  Rear  Admiral  Edwin  White  died  suddenly  while 
on  a  visit  to  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  and  the  despatch  which  brought 


7  8 

the  sad  news  sent  a  shock  through  the  Parish  and  the  whole  community. 
He  had  left  his  home  in  Princeton  but  a  few  days  before  and  his 
death  coming  quickly  and  without  warning,  caused  a  great  transition  in 
feeling  among  all  his  friends.  He  died  while  walking  toward  the 
office  of  the  Commandant  of  the  yard ;  but  the  stroke  of  "the  swift 
angel"  did  not  find  him  unprepared.  For  many  years  he  had  tried  to 
obey  the  bidding  "be  ye  also  ready,  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not, 
the  Son  of  Man  cometh."  He  was  always  a  regular  attendant  of 
church,  when  off  duty,  and  when  retired  from  active  service ;  and  in 
his  private  life  he  fulfilled  the  duties  and  exemplified  the  virtue  of  the 
consistent  Christian.  His  death  was  a  strange  interruption  of  a  plan  he 
had  formed,  and  was  just  about  to  carry  out,  of  sailing  with  his 
daughter  for  Europe,  and  spending  some  time  in  foreign  travel.  But 
the  Providence  which  disposes  our  affairs  had  arranged  that  he 
should  reach  by  a  single  step  "the  soft  blue  shore  of  the  calm  land 
beyond  the  sea,"  and  there  await  his  loved  ones  when  their  voyage  of 
life  was  over.  Three  years  later,  his  son  George  Emmons  White,  who 
had  been  baptized,  catechised  and  confirmed  in  the  Parish,  joined 
him  on  the  eternal  shore.  Life  was  full  of  interest  and  flattering 
prospect  for  the  son,  but  when  he  realized  that  it  soon  must  fulfill  its 
course,  he  resigned  himself  without  a  murmur  to  the  will  of  God,  and 
submissively  and  even  cheerfully  met  his  end. 

In  June  1005,  a  request  was  received  by  the  Vestry  from  the  Rev. 
John  Hendrik  de  Vries,  D.  D.,  that  they  sign  a  certificate  recommending 
him  to  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Diocese,  as  a  candidate  for 
Holy  Orders ;  whereupon  the  certificate  required  by  canon  was  on 
motion  duly  signed,  and  transmitted  to  the  Committee.  Dr.  de  Vries, 
who  had  been  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Prince- 
ton, was  soon  ordained  deacon  and  priest,  and  after  temporary  work  in 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  became  Rector  of  a  church  in  Saybrook, 
Connecticut. 

In  1906  the  Parish  sustained  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Josephine  Antoinette  Swann,  whose  decease  occurred  on  Friday, 
March  2d,  in  Washington,  D.  C,  where,  for  many  years,  she  had  lived 
during  the  winter.  Her  body  was  brought  to  Princeton  for  burial 
os  Monday  of  the  following  week.  On  its  arrival,  the  body  was  taken 
directly  to  Belgrade,  her  Princeton  home,  and  there  with  attending 
relatives  and  gathered  friends,  a  short  service  was  held  by  the  Rector 
of  the  Parish.  The  body  was  then  borne  to  the  Church,  and  there, 
with  vested  choir,  and  appropriate  Psalms  and  Hymns,  the  Burial  Office 
was  said  by  the  Rector  and  Curate.  The  Commital  was  in  her  lot  in 
the  Princeton  Cemetery,  and  by  the  side  of  her  first  husband,  the  Hon. 
John  R.  Thomson.  Mrs.  Swann  was  one  of  the  oldest  of  our  com- 
municants, and  she  will  be  greatly  missed  in  the  services  and  activities 


79 

of  the  Parish,  and  in  the  private  sanctuary  of  many  a  heart  where 
her  departure  has  left  a  vacant  seat.  She  was  also  interested  in  many 
things  without  the  Parish,  and  was  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand 
to  any  public  project  which  had  in  view  the  improvement  of  the  Bor- 
ough or  the  welfare  of  its  citizens.  She  evinced  her  interest  in  the 
Borough  by  bequeathing  to  it  her  beautiful  residence  and  grounds, 
and  by  making  liberal  provision  for  the  maintenance  of  both.  She  also 
showed  her  attachment  to  the  Parish  by  a  bequest  of  $13,000,  the  income 
of  which  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  Rector,  choir,  and  the  relief 
of  the  poor.  The  bulk  of  her  estate  she  left  to  the  University  for  the 
building  and  endowment  of  "The  John  R.  Thomson  Graduate  College, 
designed  as  a  permanent  memorial  of  the  interest  felt  by  him  in  the 
higher  literary  and  scientific  education  of  his  countrymen." 

Mrs.  Swann  was  a  woman  of  decided  character,  amiable  accom- 
plishment, broad  sympathy  and  practical  ability ;  but  that  she  also 
possessed  unaffected  piety  is  the  chief  cause  of  our  thankful  remem- 
brance of  her,  and  it  is  her  memorial  with  God. 

One  of  Mrs.  Swann's  most  intimate  friends  soon  followed  her  to 
the  unseen  world.  On  July  21,  1906,  Mrs.  Annis  Thomson  McMillan, 
wife  of  Professor  Charles  McMillan,  was  borne  to  the  grave  by  the 
church's  solemn  "order  for  the  burial  of  the  dead."  Mrs.  McMillan  was 
the  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Richard  S.  Field ;  and  not  only  had  an 
ancestral  interest  in  the  Parish  but  an  acquired  attachment  for  it, 
resting  on  the  hearty  acceptance  of  the  principles  it  upheld,  and  her 
personal  experience  of  the  spiritual  benefits  it  had  been  the  channel  of 
conveyance  from  its  Lord  and  Head.  Her  whole  heart  was  given  to  the 
church.  Just  before  her  marriage  to  Professor  Charles  McMillan  the 
present  church  edifice  had  been  partly  destroyed  by  fire.  Many  would 
have  thought  the  building  unfit  for  a  nuptial  service.  But  she  would  not 
be  married  elsewhere.  There  her  family  and  friends  were  asked  to  meet. 
Fortunately,  the  pews  and  tile  floor  of  the  aisle  had  not  been  much  in- 
jured by  the  fire,  and  although  the  roof  was  mostly  gone,  the  gathered 
company  felt  little  inconvenience  from  the  free  admission  of  the  bland 
June  air.  In  the  same  church  she  worshipped  through  the  whole  re- 
mainder of  her  life,  and  from  it  she  was  borne  to  her  resting  place  when 
life's  work  was  done.  Of  several  branches  of  our  charitable  work,  she 
was  for  many  years  the  interested  head ;  and  there  is  no  department  of 
Parochial  endeavor  to  which  she  was  not  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping 
hand.  On  the  Sunday  after  her  burial  the  Rector  made  reference  to  the 
virtues  of  her  character  in  a  sermon  of  which  selected  portions  may 
elsewhere  be  found.  Her  last  illness  was  a  tedious  one,  but  through- 
out it  all  she  was  patient  and  uncomplaining,  and  after  weeks  of  weary 
waiting,  she  went  away  leaning  on  "the  everlasting  arms." 

Beside  those  whose  departure  has  been  noticed  in  these  records,  there 


So 

are  many  others  "who  have  died  in  faith"  and  whom  we  would  gladly 
mention  did  the  limits  of  our  brief  narrative  permit.  Among  them  are 
"holy  and  humble  men  of  heart",  "saintly  maidens,  godly  matrons, 
widows  who  have  watched  to  prayer,"  all  having  their  names  on  the 
Parish  diptychs,  and  all  devoutly  called  to  mind  by  surviving 
friends  in  the  church  service  at  Easter  and  All  Saints  Day.  Sweet  is 
their  remembrance  on  earth,  and  hallowed  their  memorial  in  heaven ; 
and  the  example  many  of  them  have  left  behind  ought  to  be  a  continual 
inspiration  to  those  of  us  who  still  remain.  Side  by  side,  in  our  village 
cemetery  many  of  them  sleep  in  peace ;  and  they  will  thence  arise  in 
radiant  form  and  fadeless  strength  "tho  sown  in  weakness,  raised  in 
power  and  glory"  "at  the  resurrection  of  the  just." 

On  Easter  day  1906  the  Rectoj  completed  forty  years  of  service 
in  the  Parish  and  the  congregation  did  not  allow  the  anniversary  to  go 
unnoticed.  On  the  evening  of  Tuesday  in  Easter  Week  there  was  a 
gathering  of  the  congregation  at  the  Rectory,  at  which  kindly  greetings 
and  loving  remembrances  of  the  past  were  exchanged  between  pastor 
and  people.  At  the  close  of  the  reception  the  Rector  took  occasion  to 
thank  the  people  for  the  way  in  which  they  had  marked  the  fortieth 
anniversary  of  his  Rectorship,  and  especially  for  their  coming  together 
in  such  numbers  to  give  him  their  congratulations  and  to  afford  him  the 
opportunity  of  reciprocating  their  good  wishes.  He  also  stated  that 
on  Easter  Day  the  Treasurer  of  the  Parish  had  brought  him  a 
bag  filled  with  newly  minted  pieces  of  our  noblest  coin,  stating 
that  the  congregation  had  bidden  him  present  the  same  as  a  testimonial 
of  their  affectionate  regard.  The  Rector  was  deeply  touched  by  the 
gift,  and  the  love  which  it  evinced,  and  in  a  few  heartfelt  words  ex- 
pressed his  gratitude  to  all  who  had  contributed  to  it.  He  went  on  to 
say  that  the  feeling  which  was  uppermost  in  his  heart,  on  this  his 
fortieth  anniversary  was  one  of  profound  thankfulness  that  he  had  been 
permitted  to  serve  in  the  sacred  ministry  of  the  church  for  so  many 
years  and  that  his  lot  had  been  cast  among  a  people  who  had  always 
been  so  kind,  forbearing  with  his  weakness,  and  so  ready  to  co- 
operate with  him  in  any  plans  suggested  or  works  undertaken  for  the 
good  of  the  Parish.  He  added  that  in  two  years  more  we  shall  reach 
the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  our  Parish,  and  that 
he  hoped  then  to  have  ready  for  publication  a  history  of  the  Parish,  the 
material  for  which  he  had  been  trying  to  accumulate  for  some  time  past. 

The  Rector  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Beach,  Pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  who  made  a  short  address,  which  was  full 
of  kindly  Christian  feeling. 

In  the  Trinity  Record  of  September  1905  appeared  the  following 
communication  from  the  Rector  relative  to  a  proposed  Men's  Thank 
Offering: 


8i 

At  the  general  convention  of  1904  a  plan  was  set  on  foot 
to  secure  from  the  men  of  the  church  at  large,  a  missionary 
thank  offering  in  grateful  recognition  of  the  blessings  which 
have  followed  the  establishing  of  English  Christianity  in  our 
land  by  the  colony  which  founded  Jamestown,  Virginia,  in  the 
year  1607.  The  offering  is  to  be  presented  at  the  next  meeting 
of  the  convention  at  Richmond,  Va.,  in  October,  1907 — three 
hundred  years  after  the  landing  at  Jamestown,  and  the  holding 
of  the  first  service  of  the  English  church  on  the  eastern  shores 
of  the  new  world. — Some  of  the  details  of  the  plan  have  been 
made  known  to  us  by  an  admirable  circular  letter  sent  by  our 
Parochial  committee  to  all  the  men  on  our  Parish  list,  and  it 
is  hoped  that  the  appeal  of  the  letter  will  receive  kindly  con- 
sideration and  generous  response  from  those  into  whose 
hands  it  may  fall.  A  similar  effort  is  being  made  in  all  the 
Parishes  of  our  diocese  and  our  whole  land,  and  there  is 
ground  to  hope  that  the  tercentenary  offering  will  be  large, 
and  will  help  the  church  more  fully  to  grasp  its  opportunities  for 
the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom  at  home  and  abroad. 
At  the  same  time  we  are  urged  not  to  allow  our  offerings  to 
infringe  upon  stated  and  necessary  beneficence — and  to  give 
only  what  we  can  over  and  above  our  usual  contributions  to 
missionary  and  other  purposes.  Our  gifts  are  designed  to  be  a 
thank  offering,  and  this,  of  course,  ought  to  be  an 
expression  of  real  gratitude  to  God  for  blessings 
which  we  try  to  number  and  value  at  their  worth. 
English  Christianity  is  both  Catholic  and  Reformed — and  among 
its  characteristics  are  the  union  which  it  has  preserved  between 
Evangelic  truth  and  apostolic  order ;  the  tenacity  with  which 
it  holds  to  the  es^ntial  things  in  the  Christianity  of  the  past,  and 
the  freedom  with  which  it  adopts  the  best  results  of  the 
religious  renaissance  of  the  reformation  age.  Its  belief  is 
summed  up  in  the  ancient  creeds  of  Christendom  which  contain 
"the  faith  that  was  once  delivered  to  the  Saints,"  and  it  gives 
a  pure  gospel,  an  open  Bible,  and  unmutilated  sacraments  to 
the  people.  It  also  fosters  a  spirit  of  reverence  in  public  wor- 
ship and  preserves  a  dignity,  decency  and  propriety  in  all  its 
public  offices. 

The  tyoe  of  piety  it  favors  is  sober,  solid,  practical  and 
free  from  cant ;  and  it  attaches  great  importance  to  christian 
education,  and  the  preservation  of  the  sanctity  and  the  purity 
of  the  christian  home.  One  of  its  most  distinctive  marks  is 
respect  for  constituted  authority  in  state,  as  well  as  church,  and 
this  has  had  its  influence  in  safeguarding  the  institutions  of  our 
country,  and  preserving  its  unity  and  peace.  No  one  can  con- 
sider the  happy  effects  it  has  had  upon  our  religious,  social  and 
political  life,  without  finding  abundant  cause  for  thanksgiving, 
and  without  desiring  to  enroll  himself  sometime  in  the  trien- 
nium  among  those  who  wish  to  make  a  thank  offering  to  God 
for  its  planting  on  the  Chesapeake  shores  three  centuries  ago. 
The  parochial  committee  in  charge  of  the  men's  thank  offer- 
ing are  the  Rev.  Harvey  Officer,  Treasurer,  Gen.  A.  A.  Wood- 
hull,  Secretary,  Professor  Alex.  H.  Phillips  and  Mr.  J.  D.. 
Lawrence. 


82 

The  committee  issued  the  following  circular  : 

Trinity  Parish,  Princeton  ; 
24TH  June,  1905. 
To 

Mr 

Dear  Sir : 

The  General  Convention  of  1904  pressed 
upon  the  men  of  our  Church  the  desirability  of  presenting  to 
the  Board  of  Missions,  at  the  General  Convention  of  1907,  a 
Thank  Offering  for  the  spread  of  Christianity  from  English 
sources  upon  this  continent  durine  the  three  hundred  years 
that  have  passed  since  the  settlement  of  Jamestown  in 
Virginia.  Every  parish  is  expected  to  respond  to  the  appeal, 
and  the  Committee  of  Trinity  asks  your  earnest  consideration 
of  this  subject.  To  be  a  worthy  offering,  it  is  more  important 
that  it  should  be  general  than  that  it  should  be  large :  a  con- 
tribution of  a  certain  sum  from  two  hundred  subscribers 
would  be  more  creditable  to  the  Parish  and  would  react  more 
favorably  upon  the  Parishioners  themselves,  than  would  twice 
the  amount  from  half  the  number. 

The  offering  should  represent  our  gratitude  that  God's 
work  and  the  ordinances  of  religion  accompanied  the  pioneer 
immigrants.  As  the  colonists  multiplied,  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  new  country  was  essentially  missionary  work,  and 
it  is  for  the  direct  and  indirect  results  of  such  work  that  it  is 
becoming  in  us  to  be  thankful.  Our  gratitude  would  be  most 
practically  expressed  by  such  action  as  shall  enable  the  con- 
stituted agencies  to  carry  on  similar  work  at  home  and  abroad, 
for  the  benefits  of  our  fellow  men  and  the  glory  of  God.  If  we 
properly  aporeciate  the  influence  of  Christianity,  it  is  rignt  that 
we  should  seek  its  extension ;  and  such  grateful  recognition 
ought  not  to  be  confined  to  the  communicants.  Every  man 
who  attends  public  worship  or  whose  family  is  represented  in 
our  congregation,  every  one  of  us  who  is  conscious  of  the 
benefits  of  living  in  a  Christian  land,  is  asked  to  contribute. 
There  is  no  wish  to  make  the  offering  relatively  prodigious, 
and  especially  would  it  be  undesirable  to  encroach  upon  cus- 
tomary and  necessary  beneficence.  We  ask  for  a  thank  offering 
in  addition  to,  and  not  in  place  of,  your  ordinary  dutiful  alms 
and  common  benefactions.  Your  fellow-Parishoners,  a  duly 
appointed  Committee,  therefore  confidently  lay  before  you  this 
appeal  for  a  special  recognition  of  the  ter-centenary  of  a  mem- 
orable occasion  and  of  the  religious  privileges  that,  beginning 
then  have  continued  for  three  hundred  years  in  the  Colonies 
and  in  these  States.  It  is  hoped  that  every  one  whom  this 
may  reach  will  determine,  after  carefully  weighing  the  matter, 
to  give  to  tnis  special  object  something,  in  accordance  with  his 
means  and  his  other  obligations. 

Generally  speaking  it  is  more  convenient  particularly  for 
persons  of  narrow  or  fixed  incomes,  to  contribute  a  moderate 


83 

amount  at  regular  intervals,  than  by  a  great  effort  to  make  a 
considerable  offering  at  one  time.  Nor  can  there  be  any 
doubt  that  the  donor  is  more  benefited  when  he  is  frequently 
reminded  of  the  subject,  than  when  it  is  dismissed  after  a 
single  donation,  however  large  that  may  be.  Your  Committee, 
disclaiming  any  dictation,  therefore  suggests  that  a  monthly, 
bi-monthly,  quarterly,  or  even  semi-annual  contribution,  espec- 
ially recommending  the  monthly  payment,  be  made  to  4his 
object.  Some  may  find  that  to  set  apart  a  small  sum  every 
week,  and  to  transfer  it  to  the  Committee  once  a  month,  still 
more  convenient.  You  are  therefore  asked,  first,  seriously  to 
consider  the  subject;  then,  to  determine  what  you  can  properly 
give  and  how  it  may  best  be  given ;  and,  then,  to  return  to  the 
Secretary  the  accompanying  form  properly  filled  out.  The 
promised  amount  should  be  regularly  sent  to  the  Treasurer,  in 
an  envelope  that  will  be  furnished,  so  that  it  may  be  received 
within  five  days  of  the  stipulated  date.  But  some  will  find  it 
more  convenient  to  make  one  full  and  complete  payment.  Those 
are  urged  to  do  so  promptly,  on  account  of  the  contingencies 
of  life  and  that  the  District  Treasurer  may  place  his  deposits 
on  interest. 

The  Treasurer  at  stated  intervals  sends  his  collections  to 
the  District  Treasurer,  who  represents  the  Diocese.  It  will  be 
necessary  for  the  Secretary,  as  the  Executive  Officer,  to  know 
what  the  Treasurer's  collections  should  be  and  what  they  are, 
and  it  is  important  for  the  Treasurer  to  be  advised  what  to 
expect.  These  records  will  be  confidential  between  the  two 
officers  as  to  the  individual  contributions.  The  promise  is 
revocable,  for  it  is  recognized  that  an  obligation  extending 
over  a  long  term  may,  through  change  of  conditions,  become 
unreasonably  onerous.  On  the  other  hand,  should  it  be  possible 
at  a  later  period  to  increase  the  offering,  it  is  hoped  that  a  new 
and  larger  promise  may  be  substituted. 

Finally  .although  welcoming  large  gifts,  the  Committee  lays 
special  stress  upon  the  great  value  to  giver  and  recipient  alike 
of  small  ones  regularly  contributed.  It  especially  hopes  that 
no  one  will  hesitate  because  his  offering  must  be  small.  A 
few  cents  from  those  who  can  give  no  more  will  accomplish 
much  in  the  Master's  hands.  It  is  earnestly  desired  that  this 
may  become  in  the  truest  sense  a  congregational  Thank 
Offering,  from  a  Parish  conscious  of  its  own  blessings  and 
of  those  of  the  community. 

A  very  early  response  is  particularly  requested. 

Very  sincerely, 

Alfred  A.  Woodhull,  Secretary. 
Harvey  Officer,  Jr.,  Treasurer. 
Alexander  H.  Phillips, 
John  D.  Lawrence, 

Committee. 


(Date) 1905- 

To  the  Secretary  of  the  Committee  of  Trinity  Parish.  Princeton 
in   charge  of  the  Missionary   Thank   Offering. 

I  will  make  an  immediate  offering  of 

n^l Inrc        ( Erase  the  preceding\ 

.Dollars.     ^      if  not  used        ) 

I  promise  to  send  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Trinity- 
Parish  Committee  on  the  first  of  every  month,  two  months, 
quarter,  half  year  (  ^T^u^ed.  )  commencing  July  I,  1905, 
and    continuing    to    include    October    1,    1907,    the    sum    of 


(Erase  this  sentence  if  the  first  promise  is  used.) 

This  is  to  be  in  addition  to  my  other  Parish  offerings. 

This  promise  is  revocable  should  circumstances  require;  or 
the  amount  may  be  reduced  after  formal  notice  if,  in  my 
judgment,  it  becomes  necessary.  I  also  sincerely  promise  to 
increase  the  sum  pledged,  should  I  find  myself  able  to  do  so. 

(Name) 

(Address) 


After  Mr,  Officer  left  the  Parish  the  work  of  making  the  offering 
known  and  of  securing  subscriptions  to  it  devolved  upon  the  remaining 
members  of  the  committee.  They  prosecuted  the  work  with  commend- 
able zeal,  and  the  treasurer,  Prof.  A.  A.  Phillips,  at  the  end  of  the 
triennium  reported  that  the  offerings  of  the  Parish  for  the  fund  had 
been  one  thousand  dollars. 

In  1905  occurred  the  death  of  Capt.  Wm.  V.  Scudder,  grandson  of 
Col.  Wm.  Scudder,  whose  patriotic  services  during  the  Revolution 
caused  the  British  to  burn  his  mills,  situated  at  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Acqueduct,  not  far  from  Princeton.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War,  Wm.  V.  Scudder  enlisted  as  captain  of  a  company  in  the  Second 
N.  J.  Cavalry  and  suffered  many  privations  in  the  arduous  Southwest 
Campaign.  He  returned  to  Princeton  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and 
engaged  in  business,  to  which  he  gave  faithful  attention  through  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  upright,  conscientious  and  possessed  of 
great  kindness  of  heart :  and  he  was  greatly  esteemed  by  our  whole 
community.  Two  daughters  and  a  son  are  still  on  our  communicant 
list. 

At  a  congregational  meeting  on  Monday  in  Easter  week  of  the  same 
year,  a  communication  was  read  from  Professor  Henry  D.  Cornwall 
expressing  his  desire  to  retire  from  the  office  of  Vestryman :  and  the 
following  resolution  was  thereupon  unanimously  passed :  "Resolved, 
That  the  congregation  of  Trinity  Parish  here  represented  have  heard 
with  deep  regret  the  desire  of  Professor  Cornwall  to  retire  from  the 


85 

Vestry,  and  that  they  wish  to  express  their  deep  sense  of  obligation  to 
him  for  his  many  years  of  service  as  Vestryman,  and  that  he  may  be 
able  some  time  in  the  future  to  resume  the  duties  of  the  office."  Mr. 
Archibald  D.  Russell  was  elected  Vestryman  at  this  meeting  in  Prof. 
Cornwall's  place. 

From  the  prominence  given  in  these  annals  to  the  record  of  deaths, 
and  the  obituaries  with  which  the  departed  were  embalmed,  it  may  seem 
that  the  Parish  History,  from  its  beginning,  has  been  little  else  than  a 
story  of  losses,  and  that  its  movement  has  been  continually  through  a 
cloud  of  gloom.  But  the  course  of  Parish  life  was  not  always  through 
the  shadow ;  it  often  lay  in  sunshine  and  it  passed  through  no  cloud 
which  was  not  silvered  with  "the  light  that  shone  when  Hope  was  born." 
History,  as  one  says,  occurs  simultaneously  in  all  its  parts  and  elements. 
Like  Wordsworth's  cloud,  "it  moveth  all  together  if  it  move  at  all." 
And  so  in  our  Parish  History  the  sad  event  and  joyous  happening 
were  going  on  at  once.  The  same  page  which  contains  the  record  of 
losses  and  bereavements  is  also  illuminated  with  pleasing  pictures  of 
tranquil  and  prosperous  Parish  life.  There  were  bright  services  on 
festal  days — births  and  baptisms,  confirmations,  the  ringing  of  marriage 
bells,  glad  Eucharists,  the  commune  of  brethren  with  each  other  in  the 
"fellowship  divine" ;  Parish  activities  were  carried  on,  its  life  powers 
were  exerted  in  charitable  and  missionary  endeavors,  the  losses  by 
which  it  was  weakened  were  more  than  made  up  by  the  gains  which 
strengthened  it  in  numbers  and  in  power  for  useful  service.  At  various 
times  in  its  history  the  Parish  has  had  the  help  of  individuals  or 
families  whose  residence  in  Princeton  has  been  transient,  but  who 
while  remaining  here  have  shown  great  interest  in  various  branches  of 
Parochial  work.  Among  this  number  were  Mrs.  Ann  E.  Biddle,  who 
gave  a  new  start  to  our  missionary  work ;  Prof,  and  Mrs.  Henry 
Fairfield  Osborn,  who  by  their  enthusiastic  interest  put  fresh  life  into 
various  kinds  of  Parochial  endeavor ;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  S.  Conant, 
the  former  a  Vestryman,  and  the  latter  devoted  to  all  good  works ;  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Arthur  Sandys ;  Mrs.  Howard  Crosby,  the  Misses  Crosby,  the 
Misses  Woodward,  Mrs.  and  the  Misses  Lord,  all  of  whom  rendered 
much  service  to  the  Parish  by  working  in  the  Sunday  School,  Parochial 
Society,  and  by  visiting  the  homes  of  the  sick  and  poor.  In  recent 
years  a  considerable  number  of  more  permanent  families  have  been 
joined  to  the  congregation,  and  many  have  been  added,  through  God's 
blessing,  by  confirmation.  Some  have  contributed  liberally  of  their 
substance  to  the  support  of  the  Parish,  and  the  enlargement  of  its 
property,  and  through  their  beneficience  its  endowment  and  revenue 
have  been  much  increased.  Among  those  are  men  of  large  vision  as 
well  as  of  great  generosity,  and  they  have  plans  for  the  future  develop- 
ment of  the  church   in   Princeton  which   kindle   the   imagination   and 


86 

inspire  the  heart.  May  God  grant  them  the  wisdom  and  strength 
needed  for  their  task. 

Through  their  assistance  the  Parish  has  recently  bought  the  lot 
with  dwelling  house  adjoining  the  church  lot  on  the  south,  formerly 
owned  by  the  Hon.  Richard  S.  Field,  and  in  later  years  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Wm.  Henry. Green.  The  cost  of  the  property  was  $37,000.  The  stone 
building  on  one  of  its  corners,  known  as  Ivy  Hall,  was  not  included  in 
the  original  purchase,  but  has  since  been  bought  at  a  cost  of  $4000. 
This  large  increase  of  our  church  lot  provides  room  for  whatever 
structural  additions  may  be  undertaken  in  the  future  and  it  yields  a 
present  income  which  is  being  used  for  Parish  purposes.  Through 
the  same  liberality  the  Rectory  has  been  much  improved  and  furnished 
with  conveniences  of  which  for  many  years  it  was  destitute ;  our 
admirable  choir  has  had  better  support,  and  supplied  with  means  for 
an  annual  summer  outing  at  the  sea  side ;  our  offerings  for  all  purposes 
have  been  increased,  and  our  Parish  treasurer  has  been  relieved  from 
the  anxiety  which  his  predecessors  often  felt  about  the  payment  of  the 
Parish  bills. 

The  increase  of  our  congregation  of  late  has  been  partly  made  up 
of  professors  and  others  connected  with  our  far-famed  University : 
and  it  is  a  pleasing  reflection  that  members  of  the  Vestry  and  the 
Parish  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  wonderful  development  which 
has  been  going  on  in  recent  years  in  the  institution  of  which  we  are  all 
so  justly  proud. 

It  will  be  of  future  as  well  as  present  interest  to  place  in  these 
Records  the  names  of  the  Clergy,  the  Vestry,  and  of  the  officers  of  the 
chief  working  societies  of  the  Parish.    The  Clergy  are : 

The  Rev.  Alfred  B.  Baker,  D.D.,  and 
The  Rev.  Ralph  B.  Pomeroy,  B.A. 

Wardens. 
Joseph  H.  Bruere,  Bayard  Stockton. 

Vestrymen. 

Junius  S.  Morgan,  Archibald  D.  Russell, 

George  A.  Armour,  M.  Taylor   Pyne, 

Joseph  Priest,  V.  Lansing  Collins, 

Henry  P.  Clayton,  Thornton   Conover. 

Parish  Treasurer. 
Bayard  Stockton. 

Secretary. 
V.  Lansing  Collins. 


87 

Organist  and  Choirmaster. 
George  B.  Rodgers. 

Usher. 
Henry  P.  Clayton. 

Sexton. 
Ridgway  D.  Chafey. 

The  Sunday  School. 

Rev.  R.  B.  Pomeroy,  Superintendent. 

Miss  Juliana  Conover,  Secretary. 

C.  E.  Haulenbeek,  Librarian. 

Teachers — Mrs.  Baker,  Miss  Olden,  Miss  Caroline  Conover,  Miss 
Juliana  Conover,  Miss  Lane,  Miss  McMillan. 

Primary  Department — Miss  Rachel  Stevens,  Miss  Ruth  Hall,  Mrs. 
E.  O.  Lovett,  Mrs.  Sheldon,  Mr.  Berghaus,  Miss  Katharine  Stockton. 

Substitutes — Mr.  Kerr,  Mr.  Stuckey,  Miss  Douglass,  Mrs.  Nisbet. 

The  Altar  Guild. 

Miss  Adelia  Leigh,  Vice-President. 
Mrs.  John  McD.  Carnochan,  Secretary. 
Miss  Adelia  Leigh,  Treasurer. 

The  St.  Paul's  Society. 

Maurice  B.  Clark,  President. 
Edward  R.  Stoever,  Vice-President. 
Matthew  Gault,  Jr.,  Secretary. 
Earle  P.  Holsapple,  Treasurer. 

The  Society  assists  in  maintaining  services  at  Rocky  Hill,  Sand 
Hills,  Princeton  Basin  and  Hightstown.  The  following  members  of 
the  Society  are  licensed  Lay  Readers :  C.  Penrose,  C.  E.  Berghaus, 
J.  T.  Kerr,  E.  T.  Holsapple,  H.  Reynolds,  D.  Roberts,  H.  N.  Vermilye, 
C.  Van  Winkle,  W.  Schroeder,  H.  S.  Stuckey,  L.  L.  H.  Lowe. 

The  Woman's  Auxiliary  to  the  Board  of  Missions. 

Mrs.  F.  S.  Conover,  Parochial  Vice-President  and  Treasurer. 
Miss  Sarah  Olden,  Parochial  Secretary. 

The  Parochial  Aid  Society. 

Directresses — Mrs.  W.  N.  Scudder,  Miss  Ann  E.  Clayton,  Mrs. 
Harmour,  Mrs.  Huckin,  Miss  Sarah  Olden,  Treasurer. 


The  Woman's  Guild. 
Mrs.  Frederick  Feuring,  Treasurer. 

Society  for  the  Care  of  the  Sick. 
Mrs.  Charles  Smith,  Treasurer. 

The  Girls'  Friendly  Society. 

Working  Associates — Miss  Caroline  Conover,  Branch  Secretary; 
Mrs.  William  Hall,  Mrs.  John  P.  Cuyler,  Miss  Sarah  Olden,  Miss  A.  B. 
Lane. 

Honorary  Associates — Mrs.  A.  B.  Baker,  Mrs.  A.  B.  Paterson,  Mrs. 
W.  N.  Scudder,  Miss  Amelia  Lytle,  Mrs.  Junius  S.  Morgan,  Mrs. 
Caroline  Briner,  Miss  Rachel  Stevens,  Miss  Augusta  McMillan,  Mrs. 
George  A.  Armour,  Miss  Coddington. 

Members,  25;  Probationers,  9;  Candidates,  46.  In  charge  of 
candidates,  Mrs.  Trowbridge  and  Mrs.   Pahlow. 

The  Galahad  Club  of  Trinity  Parish. 
Rev.  R.  B.  Pomeroy,  Director. 
Mr.  Geo.  B.  Rodgers,  Vice-Director. 
Edward  Frohling,  President. 
Frank  Warren,  Vice-President. 
John  W.  Leigh,  Secretary-Treasurer. 
Councillors — Edward  Lloyd,  Clifford  McDermott. 

St.  Andrew's  Guild. 
Rev.  R.  B.  Pomeroy,  Director. 
James  Renwick,  President. 
C.  Burt  Meyrick,  Secretary. 
Members — August  Bamman,  William  Davis,  William  Frost,  Henry 
Haulenbeek,  Albert  Yates,  David  Lloyd,  C.  Burt  Meyrick,  James  Ren- 
wick, James  Robinson. 

The  Trinity  Guild. 
Officers. 
The  Rector  (cx-officio),  President. 
Rev.  R.  B.  Pomeroy,  Vice-President. 
C.  A.  Bowld,  Secretary. 
W.  C.  Durner,  Treasurer. 
C.  Harmour,  Librarian. 

Governing  Board. 
The  Officers,  J.  D.  Lawrence,  Philip  Bennett. 


Trinity  Church  Choir. 

Crucifer. 

Paul  Peabody. 


Edwin  Kopp, 
Charles  Huckin, 
Stanton  Garfield, 
Edward  Bamman, 
Willard  Hall, 
Raymond  Mack, 
David  Winans, 
Leonard  Kraus, 
William  Caldwell, 
Harold  Fielder, 
James  Robinson, 


Thaddeus    Gorecki, 


V.  L.  Collins, 
F.  A.  Bamman, 


Augustus  Dohm, 
K.   Hickman, 
Alfred  Bowld, 
James  Warren, 


Soprano. 


Ardsley  Flood, 
Donald  Whyte, 
Roy  Huckin, 
Asahel  Bloomer, 
Alfred  Haulenbeek, 
Albert  Yates, 
Robert  Benham, 
Stevenson  McLaren, 
Vernon  Farr, 
McKay  Sturges, 
Robert  Cundy. 


Alto. 


Burt  Meyrick. 


Edward  Lloyd. 


Tenor. 


Bass. 


VanBuren  Leigh. 


Clifford   McDermott, 
Maurice  Clark. 


Wm.  Schroeder, 
J.  T.  Kerr, 
John  Leigh, 
Charles  Clayton, 


Organist  and  Choirmaster. 
George  B.  Rodgers. 

The  present  number  of  communicants,  including  non-residents,  is 
400;  the  number  baptized  since  the  founding  of  the  Parish,  1627;  the 
number  confirmed  since  the  founding  of  the  Parish,  1010;  the  number 
of  marriages  since  the  founding  of  the  Parish,  258;  the  number  of 
burials  since  the  founding  of  the  Parish,  775 ;  the  amount  of  offerings, 
income  and  bequests  approximate  $675,475.17;  the  present  amount  of 
endowment  is  $99,622.27. 

Of  the  communicants  found  in  the  Parish  when  the  present  Rector- 
ship began,  only  16  are  now  on  the  Parish  list.  They  are  Helen  F. 
Conover,  Susan  Stockton,  Mary  Rachel  Baker,  Richard  S.  Conover, 
Antonia  T.  White,  Mary  C.  Olden,  Mary  Tuthill,  barah  Leigh,  Adeliza 
Petty,  Anna  Ruth  Dey  (nee  Kingdom),  Mary  Snooks,  Elizabeth  Leigh 


90 

(nee  Murphy),  Catharine  Lytle  (nee  Hendrickson),  Catherine  Mundy. 
Eliza  Lucretia  Watts,  Mary  E.  Kaltschmidt.  Harriet  Maria  Dod,  and 
Jane  Ogilvie — registered  here  are  living  in  New  York. 

A  broken  and  shattered  band  indeed!  But  the  thinned  ranks  have 
been  filled,  the  congregation  has  grown,  the  number  of  communicants 
has  increased — the  strength,  the  financial  ability,  the  working  machinery 
of  the  Parish  has  been  much  augmented.  How  shall  the  larger  equip- 
ment and  capacity  for  usefulness  be  employed?  On  the  answer  to  this 
question  by  pastors  and  people  must  depend  the  future  condition  of 
the  Parish.  Animated  by  one  spirit  of  faith  and  love,  all  should  strive 
together  for  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  and  the  upbuilding  of  the  church. 
All  should  aim  to  make  the  Parish  more  fruitful  in  good  works  in  the 
coming  years  than  in  those  we  now  leave  behind.  Every  eye  should 
now  be  fixed  upon  the  future.  Every  face  should  be  turned  toward  the 
tasks  which  God  will  surely  have  in  store  for  us,  and  like  the  expectant 
faces  of  the  prophets  in  Sargent's  frescoes,  be  radiant  with  hopefulness 
and  catch  a  foreglow  of  a  coming  glory.  The  tasks  of  the  future  begin 
in  the  work  of  to-day,  and  to  this  we  should  address  ourselves  with 
faith  and  whole-hearted  zeal.  We  shall  now  begin  to  fill  up  the  records 
of  the  last  quarter  of  the  century,  and  on  the  unwritten  page  inscribe 
a  history  which,  when  we  reach  the  hundredth  year  of  our  existence, 
others  will  be  here  to  read.  The  centenary  of  the  Parish  the  writer 
will  not  live  to  see :  others,  if  God  please,  will  then  be  living  and  will 
join  in  such  appropriate  observances  as  shall  then  be  held.  God  grant 
that  when  from  that  standpoint  they  look  back  upon  the  years  beginning 
now  to  run  their  course,  they  may  find  them  full  of  signs  of  prosperity 
and  growth,  suited  to  excite  their  humble  gratitude  and  lively  praise. 
With  girded  loins  and  burning  lamps,  and  hearts  that  glow  with  joyful 
faith,  let  us  address  ourselves  to  the  present  and  future  work :  and  may 
each  one's  part  in  the  common  task  be  written  in  the  Book  of  the 
Divine  Remembrance,  and  stored  among  the  unfading  archives  of  the 
eternal  world. 


APPENDIX. 

I.     Obituary  Notices  chifly  from  the  Trinity  Record. 
II.     Bishop  Doane's  Address  at  the  Laying  of  the  Cornerstone  of  the 
Old  Church. 

III.  Notices  of  the  Members  of  the  First  Vestry. 

IV.  Memorial  Sermons  Preached  in  Trinity  Church. 
V.     History  of  Trinity  Choir. 

VI.     History  of  the  St.  Paul's  Society. 


Obituary  Notices  chiefly  from  the  Trinity  Record 

paul  m.  tulane. 
Mr.  Paul  M.  Tulane,  who  was  buried  on  August  31st,  1901,  was 
living  in  Trenton  at  the  time  of  his  death,  but  for  many  years  had  been 
a  resident  of  Princeton.  He  died  in  faith,  and  after  having  put  on  the 
armor  of  the  Christian  through  baptism  by  the  Rector  and  confirmation 
by  the  Bishop.  Mrs.  Tulane  had  been  previously  baptized  and  con- 
firmed. 

The  following  notice  of  him  appeared  in  the  Princeton  Press: 
From    Trinity    Church    this    afternoon,    the    remains    of    Paul    M. 
Tulane  will  be  borne  to  their  final  resting  place  in  Princeton  Cemetery. 
Mr.  Tulane  died  in  Trenton  after  a  lingering  illness.     For  the  larger 
part   of  his   life   he  was   a   commission   merchant   in   New   York    City. 
After  the  death  of  his  uncle,  Paul  Tulane,  he  was  one  of  the  executors 
of  his  estate  and  one  of  the  legatees,  with  his  residence  in  Princeton  in 
the  house  bought  by  him  from  his  uncle's  estate,  and  now  in  the  occu- 
pancy of  Mr.  Armour.     He  returned  to  Trenton  a  few  years  ago,  and 
^bought  a  handsome  residence  on  Clinton  Avenue,  where  he  died,  in  the 
*8oth  year  of  his  age.     Mr.  Tulane  was  twice  married.     His  widow  and 
one  son  by  the  first  wife  survive  him. 

JOSEPH    S.    COLTON. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Colton,  son  of  the  Rev.  Asa  S.  Colton,  died  in 
St.  Luke's  Hospital,  New  York  City,  on  April  7th,  and  was  buried 
from  our  Church  on  April  10th,  1902.  In  his  early  life,  Mr.  Colton  was 
a  resident  of  Princeton,  and  a  communicant  of  our  Parish.  He  gradu- 
ated from  Princeton,  in  the  Class  of  1865,  and  from  the  Philadelphia 
Divinity  School  in  1868.     Soon  after,  he  was  admitted  to  orders  by 


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Bishop  Stevens  of  Pennsylvania.  Much  of  Mr.  Colton's  ministerial  life 
was  spent  in  the  West,  where  he  did  pioneer  missionary  work,  erecting 
churches  and  starting  missions  which  have  since  become  flourishing 
parishes.  In  1887  he  returned  to  the  East,  and  was  Rector  at  Dexter 
and  at  Biddeford,  Me.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  in  charge  of 
work  at  Pentwater,  Mich.  He  was  one  of  the  most  faithful  and 
laborious  of  our  clergy;  and  now  "rests  from  his  labors,  and  his  works 
do  follow  him." 

MRS.    MARY   S.    ROSS. 

Mrs.  Mary  S.  Ross  died  of  pneumonia,  at  her  home  on  Mercer 
Street,  on  March  5th,  1901,  and  was  buried  March  9th  from  Trinity 
Church  at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Her  illness  was  brief,  and  the 
best  medical  skill  and  nursing  could  not  stop  the  course  of  the  disease, 
which  hastened  rapidly  to  its  end. 

Mrs.  Ross  was  born  in  Princeton  fifty  years  ago,  and  here  her 
whole  life,  running  through  the  half  century,  was  spent.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  William  Longstreet  and  Anna  Elizabeth  Clayton ;  and  in 
the  family  circle  which  survive  her  are  the  aged  mother,  two  sisters 
and  six  brothers.  It  was  most  fitting  that  the  brothers  should  be  the 
bearers  at  the  funeral.  She  was  married  on  March  19,  1874,  to  Samuel 
M.  Ross,  and  thus  was  permitted  to  see  twenty-seven  years  of  happy 
wedded  life.  Her  death  is  greatly  mourned  by  a  large  circle  of  kindred 
and  acquaintances  and  by  many  friends  in  the  church,  of  which,  for 
many  years,  she  had  been  a  conscientious  and  consistent  member.  She 
was  confirmed  by  Bishop  Odenheimer  in  1867,  and  has  ever  since  been 
faithful  in  the  discharge  of  every  Christian  duty.  She  had  the  ornament 
of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  and  has  left  an  example  of  unassuming  piety 
which  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  in  the  home,  the  church,  or  the  wider 
circle  of  social  life. 

WILLARD  C.    HUMPHREYS. 

The  death  of  Professor  Willard  Humphreys  occurred  after  a  brief 
sickness,  on  Friday,  Sept.  27th,  1902,  at  his  residence  in  Princeton.  It 
was  feared  when  Dr.  Humphreys  was  first  stricken  down  that  death 
had  marked  him  for  its  own  and  in  spite  of  all  that  medical  aid  and 
assiduous  nursing  could  do,  his  illness  steadily  pursued  its  way  to  a 
fatal  end.  He  was  buried  from  Trinity  Church  on  Monday,  September 
29th,  St.  Michael  and  All  Angels  Day,  at  two  p.  m. ;  the  Rev.  Doctors 
Shields  and  Baker  being  the  officiating  clergymen.  Thirty  of  his  as- 
sociates in  the  University  acted  as  Pall  Bearers.  His  death  cuts  short 
a  most  useful  and  promising  career,  and  is  deeply  mourned  by  the 
Parish,  the  University  and  the  whole  community. 

For  eight  years  Dr.  Humphreys  had  filled  the  position  of  Vice- 


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President  of  Trinity  Guild,  and  during  that  period  he  frequently  favored 
it  with  instructive  and  entertaining  lectures.  He  had  charge  also  of  the 
printing  of  the  Parish  paper,  and  often  contributed  interesting  articles 
for  its  columns.  It  was  his  wish  that  the  time  of  the  present  issue 
should  coincide  very  nearly  with  the  opening  of  the  University,  and 
he  had  arranged  to  carry  it  through  the  press  on  the  same  week  in 
which  his  death  occurred.  He  left  to  another  hand  the  work  he  had 
planned  to  do,  and  the  labor  has  seemed  like  the  last  office  of  love  for 
a  departed  friend  eliciting  at  its  every  step  the  poet's  sigh, 

"O  for  the  touch  of  the  vanished  hand 
And  the  sound  of  the  voice  that  is  still." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trinity  Guild  on  Tuesday,  Sept.  30th,  the 
following  minute  was  adopted  and  ordered  to  be  sent  to  Mrs.  Hum- 
phreys and  printed  in  the  Trinity  Record,  Princeton  Press,  and  Signal- 
Enterprise: 

"It  having  pleased  Almighty  God  in  his  mysterious  Provi- 
dence to  take  out  of  this  world  our  associate  and  co-laborer, 
Dr.  Willard  Humphreys,  we,  the  members  of  Trinity  Guild, 
desire  to  express  in  this  manner  our  deep  sense  of  the  loss  w6 
have  sustained  in  the  departure  of  one  who  was  so  thoroughly 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  Guild,  and  who  so  wisely 
guided  its  action  as  its  presiding  officer.  Dr.  Humphreys'  death 
is  a  great  public  loss,  but  to  us  it  is  also  a  personal  bereave- 
ment ;  and  sharing  the  sorrow  of  those  who  sorrow  most  that 
they  shall  see  his  face  no  more,  we  extend  our  deep  and  heart- 
felt sympathy  to  them,  and  assure  them  of  our  earnest  prayers 
that  they  may  be  sustained  and  comforted  in  their  affliction  by 
the  Grace  which  is  sufficient  for  our  every  need. 

C.  A.  Bowld,  Sec. 

We  cannot  refrain  from  printing  an  extract  from  a  letter  written 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Guild  by  Samuel  M.  Hoodley,  who  rescued  Mr. 
Humphreys  from  drowning  in  the  sad  accident  on  Lake  George  on 
Aug.  2nd,  1897.  It  is  a  testimony  to  the  heroism  of  our  departed 
friend  which  we  greatly  prize.  "I  wish,"  says  Mr.  Hoodley,  "to  empha- 
size the  bravery  and  self  sacrifice  displayed  by  Mr.  Humphreys  in  his 
efforts  to  save  the  life  of  his  mother,  and  in  his  request  to  me  not  to 
assist  them  unless  I  was  sure  of  my  own  safety." 

THOMAS   EGGLESFIFLD. 

One  more  death  is  that  of  Thomas  Egglesfield,  son  of  Henry  and 
Fannie  Egglesfield,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty,  in  Mercer  Hospital 
on  February  20,  1906.  Throughout  his  boyhood  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Sunday  School  and  choir,  and  before  leaving  home  he  was  con- 
firmed and  admitted  to  the  communion.  He  was  a  young  man  of  ster- 
ling character,  and  he  was  greatly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him.    His 


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early  death  elicited  a  great  deal  of  sympathy  in  our  community,  but  we 
"sorrow  not  as  others  who  have  no  hope."  His  bright  prospects  are 
fulfilled  in  a  better  world,  in  a  way  that  passes  understanding. 

MISS    MARGARETTA   B.    DOUGHTY. 

By  the  death  of  Miss  Margaretta  B.  Doughty,  who  entered  into 
rest  on  May  25th,  1905,  the  Parish  has  suffered  the  loss  of  one  of  its 
most  faithful  communicants,  and  ''companions  in  the  Kingdom  and 
patience"  of  the  Lord.  She  was  retiring  in  disposition,  and  was  unable 
to  throw  herself  very  fully  into  the  more  active  life  of  the  Parish,  but 
in  the  quiet  sphere  in  which  providentially  her  lot  was  cast,  she  adorned 
the  Christian  profession  by  the  many  graces  of  life  and  character  which 
she  continually  displayed  and  which  elicited  the  admiration  of  all  her 
friends.     She  was  buried  in  the  Princeton  cemetery  on  April  28. 

MRS.   JOHN   H.    WESTCOTT. 

We  are  deeply  pained  to  record  the  death  of  Mrs.  Edith  S.  West- 
cott,  wife  of  Professor  John  H.  Westcott,  whose  departure  occurred 
at  Saranac  Lake,  New  York,  on  September  6th,  1905.  Mrs.  Westcott 
was  a  woman  of  beautiful  culture,  and  lovely  Christian  character,  and 
was  greatly  beloved,  not  only  in  the  home,  but  in  the  Parish,  the 
University  and  the  town.  Her  death  is  widely  mourned  and  sympathy 
for  those  especially  bereaved  is  universal  and  profound.  She  was 
buried  in  Princeton  on  September  9th. 

'"Tis  sweet  as  year  by  year  we  lose 
Friends  out  of  sight,  in  faith  to  muse, 
How  grows  in  Paradise  our  store. 
Then  pass,  ye  mourners,  cheerly  on, 
Through  prayer  unto  the  tomb. 
Still  as  ye  watch  life's  falling  leaf 
Gathering  from  every  loss  and  grief 
Hope  of  new  spring,  and  endless  home." 

MRS.   WOODS  BAKER. 

Among  the  deaths  which  have  occurred  since  the  last  issue  of  the 
Record  is  that  of  Mrs.  Woods  Baker,  who  "fell  asleep"  in  Djursholm, 
Sweeden,  early  in  January,  1906.  Although  Mrs.  Baker  had  not  lived  in 
Princeton  for  thirty  years,  she  never  lost  interest  in  the  town,  and 
never  severed  the  bonds  which  united  her  to  the  Parish.  Her  name 
was  on  our  communicant  list  at  the  time  of  her  decease.  Early  in  life 
she  developed  decided  literary  talent,  and  wrote  a  number  of  books, 
chiefly  for  the  young,  which  were  published  under  the  nom  de  plume 
"Aunt  Friendly."  Later  on  she  wrote  books  for  the  maturer  mind, 
always  using  her  talent  as  an  instrument  in  that  service  of  God  and 
man   to  which  her  life  was  wholly   devoted.     She  was   a   woman   of 


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unusual  intellectual  gifts,  but  at  the  same  time  of  unfeigned  humility, 
and  unquestioning  faith.  She  had  quick  perceptions,  and  her  judgments 
were  swiftly  formed,  but  the  judgments,  if  unfavorable,  were  either 
unspoken,  or  expressed  in  guarded  and  gracious  speech.  Her  character 
was  adorned  by  many  Christ-like  traits,  and  some,  whom  the  writer 
knows,  trace  back  what  is  good  in  them  to  the  influence  of  her  teaching 
and  example.  Through  all  the  years  of  her  life  in  Sweden  she  corre- 
sponded with  friends  in  Princeton,  and  often  in  her  letters  she  would 
speak  of  the  frequency  with  which  her  mind  turned  in  fond  recollection 
to  her  former  home,  and  in  earnest  longing  to  the  friends  of  early 
days.     She  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  in  Princeton. 

MRS.   EMILY  JACKMAN. 

Another  death  is  that  of  Mrs.  Emily  Jackman,  which  also  occurred 
early  in  January,  1906,  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  Mrs.  Jackson  was 
the  oldest  daughter  of  Mrs.  Susan  Stockton,  wife  of  Richard  Stockton, 
Esq.,  and  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Edgar  Ross  Jackman,  a  graduate  of 
the  University,  on  June  9,  1885.  The  loveliness  of  her  childhood  and 
early  womanhood  is  well  remembered  by  her  many  friends  in  Princeton. 
She  had  a  great  natural  charm  of  person  and  manner,  and  to  this  was 
added  the  higher  spiritual  beauty  which  resides  in  character  and  heart. 
She  practised  the  domestic  virtues  in  the  home  and  made  it  the  abode 
of  "the  peace  which  springs  from  the  large  aggregate  of  little  things," 
and  a  place  of  "more  hearts'  repose  than  all  the  world  beside."  She 
carried  the  social  graces  into  the  larger  circles  in  which  she  moved,  and 
imparted  to  them  an  elevating  and  refining  influence ;  she  gave  her 
best  powers  to  the  church,  wherever  she  made  her  abode,  and  never 
grew  weary  of  the  works  which  spring  from  faith  and  love.  The  death 
of  Mrs.  Jackman  is  deeply  mourned  in  Princeton,  and  the  influence  of 
her  life  and  example  will  not  soon  pass  away.  May  we  not  say  she 
has  gone 

"to  join  the  choir  invisible 
Of  those  immortal  dead  who  live  again 
In  minds  made  better  by  their  presence"  ? 

Mrs.  Jackman  was  buried  from  Christ  Church,  Poughkeepsie,  on 
Wednesday,  January  11,  the  Rector  of  this  Parish  officiating,  and  the 
Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Poughkeepsie,  assisting  in  the  service.  She 
is  survived  by  her  husband  and  two  sons. 

MRS.   CHARLES   MCMILLAN. 

Among  the  deaths  since  the  last  issue  of  the  Record  is  that  of  Mrs. 
Annis  T.  McMillan,  wife  of  Professor  McMillan,  and  daughter  of  the 
Hon.  Richard  Stockton  Field,  former  proprietor  of  Guernsey  Hall. 
Mrs.  McMillan  died  on  July  19th,  and  was  buried  from  the  Church  on 


July  21  st,  1906.  From  a  sermon  preached  by  the  Rector  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  we  make  the  following  extracts :  "What  shall  I  say  of  one 
so  tenderly  remembered,  so  universally  esteemed,  so  long  and  closely 
interlinked  with  the  lives  of  many  in  the  Parish  that  her  departure 
makes  a  rent  in  the  texture  of  their  existence,  and  turns  us  all  into  a 
company  of  mourners?  I  shall  not  attempt  to  pronounce  her  eulogy. 
Nothing  could  be  further  from  her  wish  than  that  I  should  adopt  a 
strain  of  panegeric,  or  indulge  in  laudation  of  her  character  and  work. 
Could  she  speak  to  us  from  the  silence  she  would  rebuke  us  rather  than 
commend  us  for  such  a  wounding  of  her  humility,  such  an  anticipation 
of  the  time  when  "the  counsels  of  the  hearts  shall  be  made  manifest, 
and  every  man  shall  have  praise  of  God."  But  still  something  is  due  to 
truth,  something  to  justice,  something  to  the  common  sentiment  of  this 
congregation ;  and  I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  that  the  departed  one 
was  more  than  an  ordinary  woman,  an  ordinary  Christian,  an  ordinary 
example  of  what  should  be  shunned,  and  what  should  be  followed.  Her 
nature  was  of  finer  mold  than  is  found  in  the  composition  of  average, 
commonplace  humanity,  and  this  was  the  basis  of  certain  lofty  qualities 
which  betokened  a  lineage  of  which  she  was  not  proud,  but  for  which 
she  could  not  but  be  thankful.  She  was  high-minded,  yet  humble,  self- 
respecting,  yet  generous  and  unselfish  in  her  treatment  of  others.  She 
moved  in  a  higher  level  of  thought  and  feeling  than  ordinary  folk, 
but  readily  adapted  herself  to  those  whose  views  and  feelings  were 
lower  than  her  own.  She  was  fitted  to  be  a  leader  in  social  life,  but 
she  loved  not  pre-eminence,  but  found  her  happiness  chiefly  in  the 
domestic  circle,  and  the  calm  contentment  of  the  home,  and  she  en- 
nobled the  humblest  duty  of  home  life  by  the  high  and  graceful  purpose 
with  which  she  performed  them.  And  so  we  may  fittingly  apply  to 
her  Lowell's  sketch  of  a  noble  woman,  and  say : 

"Great  feelings  had  she  of  her  own 
Which  lesser  souls  may  never  know ; 
God  giveth  them  to  her  alone. 
And  sweet  they  are  as  any  tone 
Wherewith  the  wind  may  choose  to  blow. 

"Yet  in  herself  she  dwelleth  not 
Although  no  home  were  half  so  fair : 
No  simplest  duty  is  forgot. 
Life  hath  no  dear  and  lonely  spot 
That  does  not  in  her  sunshine  share." 

Yet  again  the  departed  one  was  more  than  an  ordinary  Christian. 
She  had  a,  high  ideal  of  the  Christian  life,  and  this  she  tried  to  make 
actual  in  her  daily  walk  and  conversation.  Her  character  was  adorned 
by  many  graces,  and  she  had  especially  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and 
quiet   spirit  which   in   the   sight   of   God  is   of  great  price.     She  was 


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diligent  in  good  works,  and  would  often  persevere  in  them  in  times  of 
weariness  and  weakness  when  she  might  have  let  them  cease  without 
the  possibility  of  blame.  ...  It  cannot  but  do  us  good  to  think  of 
such  a  character.  Bishop  Doane,  the  elder,  wrote  long  ago,  "Never  is 
Christian  character  so  lovely,  and  never  is  Christian  influence  so 
powerful  for  good  as  when  it  wins  its  gentle  way,  pervading  like  the 
light,  distilling  like  the  dew,  in  all  the  nameless  graces,  the  unconscious 
charms,  the  irresistible  attractions  of  a  modest,  gentle,  faithful,  loving, 
holy,  Christian  woman."  Such  a  character  was  that  of  the  subject  of 
these  remarks,  and  her  example  of  faith  and  patience  let  us  follow. 

REAR  ADMIRAL  EDWIN   WHITE,   U.    S.   A. 

(From  the  Nezu  York  Tribune.) 

The  admiral  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1843,  and  was  the  son  of  Lyman 
White.  He  was  graduated  from  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  in 
1864  as  a  midshipman,  and  his  first  duty  in  the  navy  was  performed 
at  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard.  In  1866  he  was  promoted  to  ensign  and 
later  in  the  same  year  he  became  master.  Two  years  later  he  was 
promoted  to  lieutenant,  and  in  the  following  year  to  lieutenant  com- 
mander. He  became  commander  in  1886,  and  from  that  time  till  his 
retirement  saw  much  active  work. 

In  the  summer  of  1886  he  served  at  the  torpedo  station  at  Newport, 
R.  I.  From  December,  1886,  to  October,  1888,  he  commanded  the 
training  ship  Portsmouth.  In  November,  1888,  he  was  ordered  as 
equipment  officer  to  the  navy  yard  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  In  April, 
1892,  he  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  United  States  steamship 
Concord,  and  ascended  the  Mississippi  River  to  Memphis,  Tenn.,  to 
participate  in  the  celebration  of  the  opening  of  the  bridge  across  the 
river  at  that  point.  Later  he  went  to  Cairo,  111.,  and  anchored  in  the 
Ohio  River.  Considerable  interest  was  excited  throughout  the  country 
by  this  novel  cruise  for  a  vessel  of  sixteen  feet  draught,  and  on  the 
return  of  the  ship  to  sea  she  stopped  at  the  important  river  towns, 
where  there  was  lively  enthusiasm  over  the  visit. 

The  admiral  cruised  with  the  North  Atlantic  squadron  in  the 
summer  of  1892;  proceeded  under  telegraphic  orders  to  Venezuela  in 
September,  1892,  to  protect  American  interests  during  a  prolonged 
revolution,  and  where  United  States  mail  steamers  had  been  interfered' 
with.  On  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Walker  he  was  ordered  to  Colon  to. 
restore  the  traffic  on  the  isthmus,  which  had  been  interrupted  by 
local  authorities.  He  was  attached  to  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Gherardi 
in  March,  1893,  and  participated  in  the  naval  review  at  Hampton 
Roads  and  New  York.  In  July,  1893,  he  became  equipment  officer 
of  the  New  York  Navy  Yard.  In  June,  1895,  he  was  ordered  to  the 
Naval   War    College,    Newport,   R.    I.,   and   in   November,    same  year, 


he  was  ordered  as  commandment  of  cadets,  and  continued  on  this  duty 
until   September,   1898,  when  he  was  ordered  to  command  the  Terror. 

In  October  following  he  was  ordered  to  command  the  Philadelphia, 
flagship  on  the  Pacific  station.  He  was  at  Alpa,  Samoa,  in  March  and 
April,  1899,  when  several  British  and  American  officers  were  slain  in 
action  with  the  natives.  On  his  return  from  Samoa  he  suffered  from 
illness  contracted  in  the  line  of  duty,  which  resulted  in  his  retirement 
in  December,  1899.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  Personnel  act,  Presi- 
dent McKinley  directed  that  he  be  retired  with  the  grade  of  rear 
admiral. 

Admiral  White  married  in  Princeton,  X.  J.,  in  1870,  Miss  Antonia 
Thornton,  the  daughter  of  Admiral  George  F.  Emmons.  He  was  the 
first  cousin  of  William  Allen  White,  the  author.  Their  fathers  were 
brothers,  but  Mr.  White  and  the  admiral  never  met  until  four  years  ago. 

EMMA    S.    ROSE. 

Confirmed  and  admitted  to  the  communion  in  the  year  1888  she 
remained  steadfast  in  her  loyalty  to  the  church,  and  in  the  dis- 
charge of  every  known  duty  till  she  fell  asleep  in  the  beginning  of  the 
present  year.  '  She  was  well  known  in  the  community  and  the  in- 
fluences of  her  life  and  example  will  long  remain  as  an  inspiration 
to  her  many  friends.  She  is  greatly  missed  in  the  home,  the  church 
and  the  circles  in  which  she  moved,  but  we  think  not  so  much  of  our 
loss  to-day,  as  of  the  fuller  life  into  which  she  has  entered  and  which 
to  her,  is  gain  unspeakable. 

MARIA  CLEMSON  OLDEX. 

Baptised  in  infancy  and  received  into  the  communion  of  the 
church  by  confirmation  in  the  year  1868,  her  early  life  was  spent 
in  Princeton,  the  home  of  her  family  since  the  settlement  of  the  town, 
and  many  can  remember  the  earnestness  and  loving  zeal  with  which, 
in  her  younger  days,  she  entered  into  the  work  of  the  Sunday  school, 
and  charitable  societies.  She  carried  the  same  devoted  spirit  into  the 
wider  fields  of  usefulness  for  which  she  afterwards  felt  she  had  voca- 
tion, and  her  life  was  fruitful  in  good  works  till  the  evening  came  "and 
the  busy  world  was  hushed,  and  the  fever  of  life  was  over,  and  her  work 
was  done."     She  rests  from  her  labors,  and  her  words  do  follow  her. 

ROLLIN   HARPER  LYNDE. 

He  was  confirmed  in  the  year  1872,  and  although  soon  removing 
from  the  Parish  he  was  enrolled  as  one  of  its  communicants  till  he  fell 
asleep.  He  was  glad  when  he  could,  to  attend  the  services  of  our 
church,  and  to  kneel  with  us  in  the   Holy   Sacrament  to   receive  the 


99 

Bread  of  Life.  He  was  upright,  kind,  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of 
duty,  and  his  loss  is  deeply  mourned  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  by 
whom  he  was  beloved. 

GUSTAV   SCHIRMER. 

For  the  few  years  of  his  residence  in  the  Parish,  he  was  faithful 
in  attendance  on  its  services,  and  much  interested  in  everything  that 
concerned  its  welfare.  He  was  much  respected  for  his  benevolence, 
probity  and  strength  of  true  character  and  had  wide  influence  for  good 
in  the  business  and  social  circles  in  which  he  moved.  That  influence 
will  last  for  years  beyond  our  ken.  He  went  away  enveloped  in  a 
radiant  atmosphere  of  affection  and  hope,  and  through  that  atmosphere 
those  who  are  left  behind  still  behold  him. 

HATTIE  LEIGH  EELYEA. 

Of  a  family  well  known  and  greatly  respected  in  our  com- 
munity, faithful  in  all  the  duties  of  the  home  of  which  she  was  the 
inspiring  presence,  and  of  the  church  to  which  she  was  ardently  at- 
tached ;  careful  to  maintain  good  works,  and  to  "follow  the  holiness 
without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord",  possessed  in  an  eminent 
degree  of  the  chrismal  gifts  of  wisdom,  counsel  and  true  godliness ; 
adding  to  the  graces  which  adorned  her  beautiful  character  "the  orna- 
ment of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which  in  the  sight  of  God  is  of  great 
price ;  she  suddenly  fell  asleep  but  a  few  weeks  ago,  and  was  buried 
with  her  fathers  in  their  resting  place  at  Hopewell. 

"Soon,  soon  to   faithful  warriors  cometh  rest 
Sweet  is  the  calm  of  Paradise  the  blest" 

The  large  numbers  who  came  to  her  burial  from  the  Parish  in 
which  she  formerly  was  resident,  gave  evidence  of  the  esteem  and  love 
in  which  she  there  was  held  both  for  her  work's  sake,  and  for  her 
amiable  traits  of  character. 

The  Altar  Guild,  of  which  she  was  a  devoted  member,  will  make  a 
fitting  memorial  of  her,  but  her  best  memorial  is  in  "the  Book  of  Re- 
membrance kept  on  high  for  those  who  fear  the  Lord  and  call  upon  His 
name." 

GEORGE  EMMONS  WHITE. 

A  scion  of  ancestors,  who,  in  high  military  rank,  rendered  con- 
spicious  service  to  the  state;  reared  in  the  Parish  from  his  infancy, 
and  enrolled  in  due  time  on  the  communicant  list ;  prepared  for  his 
life  work  in  our  University  and  removing  soon  after  his  academic 
course   to   the  city   where   his   vocation   lay — died   in   the   strength   and 


prime  of  manhood — but  a  fortnight  ago,  and  was  added  to  the  list  of 
the  dear  departed  ones  who  look  on  us  to-day  with  eyes  of  love  from  the 
darkness  and  speak  to  us  from  the  silence.  He  often  returned  to  his 
Princeton  home  and  joined  with  us  in  the  services  which  in  early  life 
he  had  learned  to  love.  He  carried  the  fresh  warm  heart  of  youth  into 
the  experience  of  maturer  life,  and  was  blessed  with  a  large  circle  of 
friends  who  were  drawn  to  him  by  his  generous  disposition  and  affec- 
tionate nature.  As  the  end  approached,  he  evinced  a  spirit  of  sub- 
mission and  cheerful  acquiesience  in  will  of  God  that  showed  the 
strength  of  his  faith  and  the  reality  of  his  hold  upon  the  cross.  The 
tears  with  which  he  was  followed  to  the  grave  are  scarcely  dried  upon 
the  cheek  and  as  they  start  again  to-day,  through  the  dimness,  breaks 
the  song 

"For  all  thy  saints,  who  from  their  labors  rest 
Who  Thee,  by  faith  before  the  world,  confessed 
Thy  name  oh  Jesus,  be  forever  blest,  Allelulia ! 

MRS.   LOUISA   C.    TUTHILL. 

(From  a  New  Haven  paper,  June,  1879.  Rev.  W.  G.  Andrews,  D.D.) 
The  death  of  Mrs.  Louisa  C.  Tuthill  of  Princeton  ought  not  to  be 
passed  over  without  some  other  mention  than  the  bare  record  of  the 
fact.  It  is  impossible  now  to  give  an  adequate  account  of  her  life  and 
work,  but  enough  may  be  said  within  a  brief  compass  to  remind  those 
who  knew  her  of  her  many  claims  to  honorable  remembrance,  and  to 
remind  hundreds  more  of  their  obligations  to  her  for  lessons  at  once 
valuable  and  delightful.  Mrs.  Tuthill  was  born  in  New  Haven  very 
near  the  close  of  the  last  century.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
Ebenezer  Huggins,  a  well  known  merchant  of  that  period,  and  she 
was  married  in  1817  to  Mr.  Cornelius  Tuthill,  a  graduate  of  Yale,  of 
the  class  of  1814,  and  a  man  of  rare  promise.  Her  husband  died  in 
1825,  and  Mrs.  Tuthill  soon  began  the  career  of  actual  activity  which 
may  fairly  be  said  to  have  closed  only  with  her  life.  A  list  of  the 
books  which  she  wrote  or  edited  will  be  found  in  Allibone's  Dictionary 
of  English  literature.  The  list  is  not  quite  complete,  but  it  contains 
the  titles  of  twenty-nine  distinct  works  from  her  own  pen.  The  earliest, 
"Ancient  Architecture,"  was  published  in  1830;  the  latest,  "The  Young 
Lady  at  Home  and  in  Society,"  in  1869,  when  Mrs.  Tuthill  had  reached 
the  age  of  seventy.  But  she  could  not  be  idle  even  them,  and  her  last 
literary  labor  was  performed  when  she  was  nearly  or  quite  four  score, 
in  the  compilation  of  her  third  volume  of  selections  from  the  writings 
of  John  Ruskin,  noticed  in  these  columns  a  few  months  ago.  Not  the 
least  of  her  services  was  the  wider  circulation  which  she  gave  in  this 
country  to  the  thoughts  of  an  author  who,  with  whatever  faults  of 
judgment  and  temper,  has  that  highest  gift  of  a  teacher,  the  power  of 


kindling  enthusiasm,  and  whose  own  delight  in  what  is  good  and  beau- 
tiful makes  him  in  the  most  important  sense  a  safe  teacher.  Mrs. 
Tuthill's  most  marked  successes  in  authorship  were  achieved  as  a 
writer  of  stories  for  the  young.  Some  of  these  have  been  reprinted  in 
England,  a  number  passed  through  from  four  to  six  editions,  of  four 
more  from  twenty  to  twenty-two  editions  were  published,  while  in  two, 
"I  will  be  a  Lady"  (1845)  and  "I  will  be  a  Gentleman"  (1846),  there 
have  been  not  less  than  forty  editions.  Of  these  last  named  books  those 
who  read  them  long  ago  in  childhood  still  speak  with  eager  pleasure. 
It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  second  has  done  more  than  any 
book,  save  the  Bible,  to  show  American  boys  what  are  the  qualities 
which  they  must,  and  which  they  all  may,  cultivate  in  order  to  bear 

"...     without  abuse. 
The  grand  old  name  of  gentleman." 

The  teaching  on  this  subject  of  a  woman,  combining  the  utmost 
refinement  with  sound  sense  and  wide  sympathies,  could  not  fail  to 
make  it  clear  to  a  lad  who  read  and  re-read  the  story,  that  if  he  would 
"be  a  gentleman"  he  must  possess  and  then  habitually  use  a  delicate 
respect  for  both  the  rights  and  the  feelings  of  his  neighbors,  and  that 
true  politeness  does  not  consist  only,  or  chiefly,  in  polished  manners, 
but  is  an  element  of  character. 

Mrs.  Tuthill  had  long  lived  out  of  New  England,  and  she  had 
formed  many  of  the  warmest  friendships  of  her  life  in  the  town  where 
her  later  years  were  spent,  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  But  her  heart  clung 
to  her  early  home;  she  rejoiced  intensely  in  whatever  brought  honor  to 
Connecticut;  and  to  be  a  New  Englander,  especially  to  have  associations 
with  her  life  here,  was  to  have  a  claim  upon  her  regard  which  it  would 
hace  required  many  proofs  of  unworthiness  to  destroy.  And  she  is 
herself  entitled  to  a  place  among  the  pleasant  memories  of  all  who 
admire  New  Haven  for  this  reason,  if  no  other,  that  she  is  said  to  have 
first  bestowed  on  our  city  the  appellation,  now  so  familiar,  of  "The 
City  of  Elms." 

Mrs.  Tuthill  had  been  for  very  many  years  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church  and  was  warmly  attached  to  it.  But  her 
Christian  sympathy  included  Christians  of  every  name,  and  was  as 
little  alienated  by  the  conscientious  acceptance  of  the  Breviary  as  by 
the  conscientious  refusal  to  accept  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  Of 
her  religious  character  it  is  enough  to  say  here,  that  it  was  of  the  sort 
developed  so  often  in  her  church,  exhibiting  itself  prominently  in  the 
effort  to  do  and  bear  the  will  of  God,  and  steadily  growing,  under  the 
discipline  of  life,  in  the  Christian  graces  of  humility  and  filial  confidence 
and  joy.  She  died,  somewhat  suddenly,  on  Sunday,  June  I,  and  is,  as 
is  fit,  brought  here  to  be  laid  among  her  kindred.  Our  older  cemetery 
contains  the  graves  of  many  illustrious  dead,  but  of  not  many  who 


have  a  fairer  title  to  the  praise  which  is  earned  by  long  continued  and 
successful  efforts  to  make  life  from  its  beginnings  pure  and  noble. 

.MRS.    PERCY    RIVINGTON    PYNE. 

Albertina  Shelton  Taylor  was  born  in  New  York  City  October  n, 
1833.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the  late  Moses  Taylor  and  Catherine  A. 
Wilson.  She  married  on  March  15,  1855,  at  St.  George's  Church, 
Stuyvesant  Square,  New  York  City,  Percy  Rivington  Pyne,  son  of 
Thomas  Pyne  and  Anna  Rivington.  Mrs.  Pyne  was  brought  up  in  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church,  but  when  she  was  a  young  girl,  her  parents, 
becoming  interested  in  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stephen  H.  Tyng, 
Senior,  took  a  pew  in  St.  George's  Church.  The  services  and  teachings 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  appealed  to  Mrs.  Pyne  and  she  was 
confirmed  in  St.  George's  Church,  where  she  attended  service  for  many 
years.  Mr.  Pyne  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  church  and  served  as 
Vestryman  for  a  long  period. 

Later,  Mrs.  Pyne  took  a  pew  in  Calvary  Church,  while  the  Rev. 
Edward  L.  Washburn,  D.  D.,  was  the  Rector.  After  Dr.  Washburn's 
death  the  Rev.  Dr.  Satterlee  was  called  to  Calvary,  and  he  at  once  was 
able  to  discern  Mrs.  Pyne's  power  and  influence.  Always  gentle  and 
retiring,  she  had  the  rare'  gift  of  drawing  people  to  her  and  bringing 
out  their  best  qualities.  When  Dr.  Satterlee  wished  to  start  what  is 
called  the  Archdeaconry  Committee  he  asked  Mrs.  Pyne  to  take  the 
chairmanship  and  to  organize  the  work.  From  this  little  committee  a 
work  of  vast  dimensions  grew.  Work  in  the  hospitals  and  among  those 
discharged  from  the  hospitals,  visits  to  the  poor  and  a  great  among  the 
prisoners  and  in  the  prisons.  Mrs.  Foster,  later  known  as  the  "Tombs 
Angel,"  was  on  Mrs.  Pyne's  committee,  and  later,  when  Mrs.  Pyne 
found  the  work  outgrowing  her  strength,  she  employed  Mrs.  Foster  as 
her  agent  to  do  this  special  work.  Mrs.  Foster  reported  each  month 
to  Mrs.  Pyne  and  at  intervals  between  these  monthly  reports  when  help 
was  needed  for  those  in  distress. 

Through  visiting  the  Essex  Street  Prison  and  finding  the  streets 
crowded  with  unruly  children,  Mrs.  Pyne  conceived  the  idea  of  a 
Sunday  School,  so  that  the  children  might  be  taught  as  well  as  kept  off 
the  street  during  the  hour  when  services  were  being  held  for  the 
prisoners.  The  Sunday  School  being  a  success,  Mrs.  Pyne  instituted 
a  sewing  school,  which  was  equally  successful.  Later  the  Jewish 
Rabbis,  finding  that  our  church  hymns  and  the  New  Testament  stories 
were  used,  boycotted  the  school.  Finally  the  schools  moved  to  Broome 
Street,  where  Mrs.  Pyne  erected  for  them  a  magnificent  building,  which 
she  called  God's  Providence  Home  and  gave  to  the  City  Missions  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

For  many  years  Mrs.  Pyne  was  a  manager  and  a  constant  visitor 
at  the  Woman's  Hospital  in  New  York.    Many  of  the  women  who  were 


103 

patients  there  remember  her  visits  and  the  help  she  gave  them  while 
there,  and  in  many  instances  she  followed  the  patients  to  their  homes 
and  helped  them  through  long  convalescences.  One  young  woman 
whose  case  was  brought  to  her  notice,  after  a  serious  operation,  was 
cared  for  until  she  regained  her  health  as  far  as  possible,  and  has  been 
helped  each  month  since  then,  now  a  period  of  over  twenty-five  years. 

Wherever  Mrs.  Pyne  was,  she  found  work  to  do,  and  whenever 
she  came  in  contact  with  people  her  influence  was  uplifting.  Every  one 
seemed  instinctively  to  feel  her  goodness  and  a  certain  hallowedness 
seemed  to  surround  her. 

Mrs.  Pyne's  interest  in  Princeton  University  was  clearly  shown 
when,  in  1896,  she  built  the  University  Library. 

Her  own  house  on  the  grounds  of  Edgerstoune  was  completed  in 
1900,  and  she  passed  three  weeks  there,  expecting  to  return  early  in  the 
following  spring.  However,  this  was  not  to  be,  as  she  was  called  to 
her  rest  after  a  few  days'  illness  on  December  27,  1900. 

MRS.    FRANCES    ANT0NIA    THORNTON    EMMONS. 

Mrs.  Frances  Antonia  Thornton  Emmons,  wife  of  Rear  Admiral 
George  F.  Emmons,  U.  S.  N.,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  on  Sep- 
tember 26,  1825.  Her  early  life  was  spent  in  her  native  city,  and  she 
was  there  married,  and  there  admitted  into  the  Communion  of  the 
Church  by  Confirmation.  She  came  to  Princeton  with  her  family  in 
the  year  1865 ;  and  after  living  for  a  few  years  in  the  mansion  formerly 
owned  by  Mr.  James  Potter,  she  removed  to  Edge  Hill,  where  she 
resided  through  the  remainder  of  her  life.  She  died  at  Edge  Hill  on 
March  20,  1908,  and  was  buried  from  Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  on 
March  22d,  her  remains  being  laid  by  the  side  of  her  husband,  in  a 
family  vault  in  Greenmount,  Baltimore.  On  her  removal  to  Princeton 
Mrs.  Emmons  was  canonically  transferred  to  the  Parish,  and  her  name 
was  on  the  communicant  list  when  the  present  Rectorship  began.  She 
was  a  faithful  and  devout  communicant  of  the  Parish,  and  was  never 
absent  from  church  on  the  Lord's  Day  unless  prevented  by  sickness  or 
other  hindering  cause.  As  far  as  she  was  able,  she  engaged  in  Parochial 
activities,  and  she  was  always  ready  to  aid  with  her  substance  and 
prayers  those  whom  she  could  not  assist  by  her  personal  endeavors.  She 
was  a  woman  of  simple  and  unaffected  piety,  and  always  aimed  at  that 
sincerity  which,  as  Longfellow  says,  makes  us  "to  be  what  we  are,  and 
speak  what  we  think,  and  in  all  things  keep  ourselves  loyal  to  truth, 
and  the  sacred  professions  of  friendship."  She  had  simple  taste,  simple 
needs,  was  satisfied  with  simple  pleasures,  and  greatly  longed  for  a 
return  of  old-fashioned  simplicity  in  social  life.  In  her  Christian  char- 
acter the  domestic  virtues  had  a  prominent  place,  and  she  ever  aimed 
by  habits  of  affection  and  self-sacrificing  devotion,  to  make  her  home 


104 

happy  for  all  its  inmates,  and  to  create  in  it  a  moral  atmosphere  by 
which  all  should  be  braced  and  bound  together  in  the  unity  of  love. 

"Happy  he  with  such  a  mother  !     Faith  in  womankind  beats 
with  his  blood,  and  trust  in  all  things  high  comes  easy  to  him." 

Mrs.  Emmons'  influence  extended  far  beyond  the  circle  of  the 
home ;  and  its  helpfulness  will  be  gratefully  remembered  by  many  in  the 
Parish  and  the  community  at  large. 

MISS   CAROLINE  SALOMONS. 

Miss  Caroline  Salomons,  probably  the  oldest  resident  of  the  Parish, 
and  certainly  the  member  longest  connected  with  the  congregation, 
departed  this  life  in  the  ninety-fifth  year  of  her  age  at  her  home  on 
Tuesday  evening,  April  14,  190S.  Her  mother,  a  daughter  of  the  late 
President  Smith  of  the  College,  was  born  in  Princeton  and  returned 
hither  from  the  island  of  St.  Eustatius,  West  Indies,  the  home  of  her 
husband,  Dr.  Dirck  G.  Salomons,  after  his  early  death.  Miss  Salomons, 
the  younger  of  her  daughters,  consequently  resided  here  nearly  the 
whole  of  her  long  life,  closely  connected  with  the  town  and  the  church. 
She  attended  Trinity  Church  from  its  organization  and  has  been  a 
communicant  in  it  since  1849.  In  the  early  days  of  the  present  Rector- 
ship she  took  great  interest  in  the  establishment  of  a  vested  choir  of 
boys,  and  was  of  much  assistance  in  procuring  the  interior  furnishings 
of  the  new  church.  Although  living  to  so  great  an  age,  she  retained 
in  a  reasonable  degree  the  freshness  of  thought  and  feeling  which 
belong  to  early  life.  There  was  something  in  her  which  refused  to 
grow  old,  and  which,  in  times  of  waning  of  life  powers,  insisted  on 
resuming  the  vitality  and  strength  which  she  apparently  had  resigned. 
She  had  in  her  that  principle  of  renovation,  that  power  of  rejuvanes- 
cence,  which  belongs  to  our  religion,  and  is  a  sure  prophecy  of  the  new 
life  in  the  eternal  state.  Christ  dwelt  within  her  in  His  perpetual 
freshness,  and  gave  her  the  power  of  recovery  through  which  her 
waning  strength  was  oftentimes  renewed,  and  she  was  enabled  to  say, 
"I  shall  not  die,  but  live,  and  declare  the  words  of  the  Lord."  At  last 
she  resigned  her  life  to  Him  who  gave  it,  in  the  good  hope  of  the  life 
more  abundant  in  the  better  world. 

,  Older  alumni  (although  her  direct  contemporaries  have  long  since 
left  the  stage)  will  learn  with  regret  of  the  death,  in  her  ninety-fifth 
year,  of  Miss  Caroline  Salomons  of  Princeton — better  known  to  them 
as  Miss  Tiny — which  occurred  on  April  14th  at  the  home  of  her 
nephew,  Gen.  Alfred  A.  Woodhull  '56.  Her  whole  life,  excepting  the 
years  of  her  very  earliest  childhood,  was  spent  in  Princeton,  and  by 
descent  as  well  as  by  environment  she  was  sympathetically  concerned 
in  everything  which  pertained  to  the  college  of  which  her  grandfather, 
Dr.  Smith,  and  her  great-grandfather.  Dr.  Witherspoon,  were  presi- 
dents.    Many  graduates  were  her  connections,  successive  faculties  her 


105 

friends,  and,  it  is  not  extravagant  to  say,  generations  of  students  her 
admirers.  Necessarily,  for  many  years  she  had  not  been  in  direct 
touch  with  the  University,  but  until  her  strength  began  to  fail  rapidly, 
which  was  only  recently,  she  was  deeply  interested  in  everything  befall- 
ing it.  That  interest  involved  places  as  well  as  persons  and  policies. 
For  example,  she  was  constantly  pleased  to  explain  that  her  mother 
had  been  born  and  married  (to  a  former  student)  in  the  house  now 
known  as  the  Dean's,  but  which  then  was  the  President's,  and  that 
among  the  names  of  a  still  earlier  generation  yet  inscribed  on  the 
window-panes  there  is  that  of  the  aunt  for  whom  she  was  named. 
During  the  period  of  her  activity,  which  began  early  and  endured  long, 
her  vivacity  and  her  personal  attractiveness  embellished  a  nature  of 
great  sympathy  and  a  mind  whose  natural  powers  were  more  than 
ordinary.  She  had  for  very  many  years  a  wide  acquaintance  with 
public  men  who  had  been  educated  here,  and  when,  as  she  sometimes 
felt  impelled,  she  wrote  them  in  the  interest  of  other  persons  or  of 
affairs,  her  letters  were  models  of  tact  and  of  clear  expression.  She 
represented  a  generation  that  has  entirely  lapsed ;  and  it  is  no  longer 
possible  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  manifold  activities  and  the  personnel 
of  the  University,  as  she  did  with  those  of  the  small  but  distinguished 
College,  which  she  invariably  thought  of  and  spoke  of,  under  its 
designation  of  her  youth,  as  Nassau  Hall. — Princeton  Alumni  Weekly. 


APPENDIX  II 

Address  of  Bishop  Doane 

at  the  Laying  of  the  Corner-Stone 

Trinity  Church,  Princeton. 

This  is  an  auspicious  day.  We  are  about  to  rear  another  temple, 
to  commemorate  that  glorious  "liberty,  with  which  Christ  has  made 
us  free."  The  stone  which  we  now  lay,  will  stand,  we  trust,  long 
ages  yet  to  come,  in  attestation  of  that  transcendent  victory,  by  which, 
"He  who  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  Sins,"  has  made  us 
"Conquerors,  and  more  than  Conquerors,"  of  death  and  hell.  Let 
others  celebrate  the  birthday  of  the  Nation's  independence.  Let 
other  bosoms  burn  in  the  recital  of  the  wonderful  events,  which  in  this 
favored  land,  have  made  the  day  on  which  we  meet,  an  universal 
jubilee,  and  set  it  up  upon  the  track  of  time,  a  bright  and  shining  mark, 
— an  epoch  in  the  history  of  nations,  and  their  starting-point  for  an 
illustrious  career  of  freedom,  happiness,  and  glory.  They  well  deserve 
commemoration.  It  is  fit,  that  in  their  annual  rehearsal,  hearts  should 
swell,  and  tongues  should  glow  with  an  unwonted  fervor. 

It  becomes  us,  that  to  God  we  should  ascribe  the  praise ;  and  that 
to  man,  live  wheresoever  on  the  earth's  broad  face  he  may,  in  darkness 
and  in  bondage,  we  should  endeavor  to  extend  the  light  of  knowledge, 
and  the  liberty  of  virtue.  But  while  as  patriots  we  shut  not  up  our  sym- 
pathies, but  freely  pour  them  out,  to  mingle  with  the  tide  that  swells 
around  us,  we  have  this  day,  as  Christians,  our  peculiar  triumph.  We 
are  assembled,  in  His  name,  who  was  annointed  "to  preach  deliverance 
to  the  captive,  to  set  at  liberty  them,  that  are  bound,  and  to  proclaim 
the  acceptable,  the  year  of  the  Lord."  Our  object  is,  the  com- 
memoration of  his  glory,  and  the  extension  of  his  influence,  whose 
name  was  called  Jesus,  the  Deliverer,  because  he  was  to  "Save  his 
people  from  their  sins."  It  is  the  Son,  who  has  made  us  free,  and 
therefore  we  are  "free  indeed."  It  is  in  the  strength  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,  that  our  present  purpose  is  undertaken,  and  "where  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty."  Be  with  us,  gracious  Comforter,  gift 
of  the  Father,  purchase  of  the  Son,  to  guide  us  in  our  present  work,, 
and  bless  it,  to  thy  glory  and  our  comfort ;  that  begun,  continued  and 
ended  in  thee,  it  may  be  accepted  graciously,  and  crowned  with  precious, 
spiritual,   immortal  increase ! 

For  the  occasion  which  assembles  us  together,  so  interesting  to  us, 
as  Christians,  and  as  Churchmen,  our  thanks  and  praises  are  first  due  to 
Him  "from  whom  all  good  things  come,"  that  he  has  put  it  into  the 
hearts  of  his  servants  to  erect  a  temple,  for  the  pure  and  spiritual 
worship  of  His  holy  name.  The  zeal  with  which  in  view  of  the  great 
discouragements,  the  work  has  been  resolved  on,  the  wisdom,  diligence 
and  perseverance,  with  which  thus  far,  it  has  been  prosecuted,  the 
munificent  patronage  which,  at  some  hands  it  has  received,  and  the 
favor  and  good  will,  which  from  every  side  have  risen  up,  as  if  by 
acclamation,  to  give  it  welcome, — these,  though  the  acts  of  men,  and 
as    such   claiming   and   receiving   from   us   grateful   acknowledgements, 


ioj 

are  yet,  taught  as  we  are  of  that  divine  philosophy  by  which  all  good 
things  are,  are  referred  to  God,  new  arguments  to  win  from  us  new 
tributes  of  affection  to  the  Maker  and  Moulder  of  men's  hearts.  May 
the  heavenly  blessing  thus  vouchsafed,  continue  and  increase !  May 
the  Christian  love,  thus  manifested  be  ever  more  and  more  diffusive,  till 
uniting  in  one  holy  bond,  the  hearts  of  all  on  earth,  it  reach  at  last  its 
final  consummation,  in  the  heaven  of  heavens ! 

Having  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  Church,  "to  be  devoted  to  the 
Service  of  Almighty  God,  agreeably  to  the  doctrines,  ministry,  liturgy, 
rites  and  usages  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,"  it  will  be  expected  of  us,  that  we  enumerate  some 
of  the  considerations  which  have  engaged  us,  to  such  an  enterprise,  and 
set  forth  briefly  and  explicitly,  with  Christian  candour,  and  in  Chris- 
tian love,  the  leading  characteristics,  the  reasonable,  and  as  we  think, 
powerful  claims  of  the   Protestant  Episcopal   Church. 

I.  And,  first,  it  is  a  characteristic,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  that  She  is  Scriptural  in  her  doctrine.  The  Trinity  in  Unity, 
the  Incarnation  of  the  Eternal  Son, — the  atonement  for  all  sin  made 
with  His  blood,  the  lost  and  ruined  state  of  man,  incapable  of  himself, 
to- do  anything  pleasing  unto  _  God,  and  much  less  to  attain  eternal 
salvation, — the  absolute  necessity  of  an  entire  change  of  heart  and 
affections  in  all  who  would  see  God,  known  in  Scripture  as  "the  new 
creation," — the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  affecting  this  new  change 
thence  called  "the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost," — justification  by  faith, 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus, —  faith  to  be  operative  by  love,  producing  good 
works,  which  for  Christ's  sake  are  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God, — 
holiness  indispensable  to  salvation,  though  in  no  man  adequate  to  its 
attainment, — the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  the 
unjust, — a  final  judgment  both  of  the  quick  and  the  dead,  according  to 
the  deeds  done  in  the  body, — eternal  death,  "the  Wages  of  Sin," — 
Life  everlasting,  the  free  gift  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  these  in  the 
outline,  are  the  doctrines  of  the  Church.  That  they  are  hers,  we  know, 
not  merely  because  her  ministers  proclaim  them, — they  being  mortal, 
and  so  frail,  might  err,  or  might  mislead, — but  because  they  are  in- 
corporated and  ingrained  in  her  whole  system, — proclaimed  in  creeds, 
and  articles,  chanted  in  hymns,  acknowledged  in  thanksgivings,  the 
burthen  and  the  theme  of  praise  and  of  prayers.  The  precious  truths 
not  to  be  searched  for,  like  the  pure  gold,  in  its  native  bed,  but  cir- 
culating constantly  from  hand  to  hand,  and  heart  to  heart,  and  making 
all  men  rich,  not  hid  in  masses  that  profound  search  and  patient  toil 
alone  can  oenetrate,  but  like  the  running  water,  "or  the  casing  air," 
common  and  free  to  all, — the  ailment  of  life,  the  solace  and  refreshment 
of  the  Soul.  Nor  is  she  merely  Scriptural  herself,  but  keeps  her 
members  so,  if  they  continue  honestly  in  her  communion.  The  minister 
beside  her  altars  never  can  forsake  "the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  and 
continue  in  her  service ;  since  his  life  would  every  day  pass  sentence 
on  his  perjured  heart.  And  every  worshipper  within  her  courts  has  in 
her  daily  service  daily  admonition  of  the  truths ;  and  if  he  stray  or 
stumble,  it  must  be  in  the  broad,  clear  light  of  noon. 

2.  It  is  claimed  as  a  second  characteristic  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  that  she  is  apostolic  in  her  ministry, — and  this  as  to  its 
form,  and  as  to  its  authority.  In  form,  she  claims  to  be  apostolic; — 
deeming  it  "evident,"  as  in  the  preface  to  her  Ordinal,  she  states,  "to 
.all  men  reading  holy  Scripture  and  ancient  authors,  that  from  the 
apostles'  times  there  have  been  three  orders   of  ministers   in   Christ's 


io8 

Church,  Bishops,  Priests  and  Deacons."  In  authority  she  claims  to  be 
Apostolic ; — since  in  the  first,  and  highest,  of  the  three,  she  traces 
straight  to  Christ,  the  fountain-head,  a  never  interrupted  stream, — the 
rich  fulfilment  of  the  promise  to  the  eleven,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  baptizing  them,"  and  "Lo,  I  am  with 
you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  and  the  explicit  illustra- 
tion of  the  Saviour's  meaning,  when  he  said  to  the  Apostles,  "as  my 
Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you."  Some,  we  are  awara,  do 
not  regard  these  things  essential  to  the  authority  of  the  ministry.  But 
not  to  say,  that  for  the  first  fifteen  hundred  years  from  Christ,  they 
neither  failed,  nor  even  were  called  in  question  as  to  their  importance, 
it  never  has  been,  and  never  can  be  "alleged,  that  the  possession  of 
them,  is  injurious.  The  ministry  that  has  them,  is  at  least  as  likely  to 
be  valid,  as  that  which  has  them  not.  To  be  on  the  safe  side  of  so 
great  a  question,  becomes  us,  as  prudent  men.  The  validity  of  the 
commission  through  the  bishops,  from  the  apostles,  and  from  Christ, 
the  Supporters  of  all  other  Systems,  how  discordant  soever  among 
themselves,  are  ready  to  concede.  Until  they  agree  as  fully  in  pointing 
out  some  better  substitute,  we  are  content  with  that,  which,  through 
God's  gracious  providence,  has  so  come  down  to  us. 

3.  It  is  a  farther  characteristic  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
that  she  is  spiritual  in  her  worship.  Her  Liturgy  is,  as  it  were,  con- 
ceived and  born  of  Scripture.  The  most  intelligent  Christians  of  all 
denominations  have  united  in  regarding  it,  as  only  not  inspired.  Fol- 
lowing her  Saviour,  and  the  Apostles  whom  he  chose,  in  her  adoption 
of  a  liturgical  worship  it  is  her  inestimable  advantage  that  the  spiritual 
strains  which  have  burst,  burning,  from  the  hearts  of  prophets,  and 
apostles,  and  martyrs,  and  old  saints,  still  echo  through  her  courts, 
stirring  the  souls  of  men  as  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  kindling 
them  with  that  true  fire  from  heaven,  which  makes  the  sacrifice  accept- 
able, for  Christ's  Sake,  before  God. 

4.  Possessing  these  great  advantages,  a  scriptural  doctrine,  an 
apostolic  ministry,  and  a  spiritual  worship,  the  church,  of  which  it  is 
our  privilege  that  we  are  members,  is  eminent  for  Unity  and  order. 
"One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,"  one  hope  of  her  high  calling,  and 
one  ancient  path, — the  path  in  which  Apostles  walked,  and  holy  men 
of  old,  in  which  that  glorious  hope,  is  to  be  sought,  and  won,  make 
her,  emphatically,  "a  city  that  is  compact  together."  Of  every  thing  in 
her  the  tendency  is  to  Unity.  Daily  rehearsing  the  same  Scripturs' 
creed,  her  sincere  members  are  daily  brought,  by  the  divine  Spirit, 
more  and  more  into  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God.  The  ministry,  ranged  in  subordinate  degrees,  and  every  where 
united  with,  and  in  subjection  to  the  highest  in  authority,  are  thus 
beautifully  connected,  in  due  graduation  with  Him,  who  is  "Head  over 
all  things  to  the  Church  which  is  His  Body,"  and  are  preserved  so  far 
as  system,  with  God's  blessing,  can  affect  it  in  "the  bond  of  peace." 
While  the  whole  company  of  her  children,  uniting  every  where  in  the 
same  solemn  worship,  like  the  Christians  of  the  first  and  purest  days, 
with  "one  mind  and  one  mouth"  glorify  God.  "Order,"  therefore,  as  it 
"is  heaven's  first  law,"  so  it  is  her  constant  characteristic ; — order  in 
government  promotive  of  strength ;  order  in  discipline,  promotive  of 
peace ;  order  in  worship,  promotive  of  piety  and  love, — the  "Com- 
munion of  Saints,"  on  earth,  trained  and  prepared  by  the  due  discipline 
of  time,  for  the  eternal  and  unbroken  harmony  of  heaven. 

5.  Still  further,  the  Church,  of  which  in  duty  and  affection  we  are 


iog 

children,  is  illustrious  for  moderation  and  charity.  While  the  Christian 
world  around  us  has  been  continually  agitated  and  convulsed,  she  has 
kept  on  with  little  interruption  the  even  tenour  of  her  way.  Always 
prudent,  always  sober,  always  dignified,  the  Scripture  her  rule  of  faith, 
and  the  Saviour  her  model  in  practice,  she  has,  by  God's  gracious 
goodness,  resisted  innovations,  and  been  rescued  from  corruptions. 
While  some  have  fallen  into  a  coldness  and  deadness,  that  was  only 
not  downright  infidelity,  and  others  have  been  heated,  and  almost 
consumed  by  the  fierce  fires  of  extravagance  and  fanaticism,  she  has 
gone  cheerfully  on,  "fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord,"  with  a  quiet 
dignity  becoming  the  spouse  of  Christ,  the  mother  of  Apostles  and 
Saints ;  she  has  been  less  careful  to  appear  outwardly  religious,  before 
men,  than  to  train  up  many  sons  and  daughters  for  their  inheritance 
of  glory.  .  .  .  Nor  is  she  less  conspicuous  for  charity.  She  rejects 
no  infant  from  the  privileges  of  baptism,  for  the  unworthiness  of  its 
parents,  but  prefers  rather  to  emulate  His  example,  who  said,  "Suffer 
little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,"  who  took  them 
up  in  His  arms,  laid  His  Hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them.  She 
undertakes  no  scrutiny  of  heart  in  them,  who  present  themselves  at  the 
table  of  the  Lord,  but  inviting  all  to  come,  and  rejecting  none  that 
do  not  by  their  outward  deeds  disgrace  their  high  vocation,  leaves  the 
heart  and  conscience  to  God  that  made  and  can  alone  discern  them. 
She  strives  ever,  like  her  divine  Saviour,  to  support  the  bruised  reed. 
Ever  to  enkindle  and  enliven  the  smoking  flax,  ever  to  bind  up  and 
heal  the  broken  heart.  And,  she  rejoices,  even  as  the  angels  of  God 
rejoice,  over  "one  Sinner  that  repenteth."  If  men  stray  from  her,  she 
strives  to  woo  them  back.  If  they  oppose  and  persecute  her,  she 
blesses  them.  She  has  fervent  supplications  for  Jews,  Turks,  infidels 
and  heretics.  And  for  her  worst  enemies,  she  has  ever  on  her  lips  the 
Saviour's  prayer,  "Father  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do." 

6.  Finally,  the  Church  in  which  we  worship,  and  on  whose  folds 
we  this  day  especially  invoke  the  heavenly  blessing,  is  a  faithful  Church. 
She  is  faithful  as  a  "Witness  and  Keeper  of  holy  writ,"  guarding  it 
with  zealous  watchfulness,  and  making  it  in  all  things  her  standard  and 
her  law.  She  is  faithful  in  dispensing  the  bread  of  life  freely  to  the 
family  of  her  Lord.  She  is  faithful  in  the  proyision  she  has  made  in 
baptism,  in  religious  instruction,  and  in  the  Apostolic  rite  of  Confirma- 
tion, for  bringing  up  all  her  children  in  his  nurture  and  holy  admonition. 
She  is  faithful  in  admitting  to  a  participation  in  her  counsels,  and  to  a 
full  share  with  the  clergy  in  the  administration  of  her  affairs,  their 
brethren  of  the  Laity, — exhibiting  in  this  respect,  an  impartiality  to 
which  no  other  of  the  families  which  bear  the  name  of  Christ  at  all 
approaches.  And  finally,  she  is  most  faithful  in  her  efforts  to  spread 
the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  that  "God's  way  may  be  known  in  all  the 
earth,  His  saving  health  to  all  nations." 

Such,  Christian  brethren,  are  some  of  the  distinctive  traits,  the 
reasonable,  and,  as  we  think,  powerful  claims  of  that  Apostolic  Church 
under  whose  shadow  we  are  now  assembled.  Are  not  her  palaces 
glorious?  Are  not  her  lofty  battlements  radiant  with  heaven's  own 
light?  Have  not  her  bulwarks,  strong  in  the  Lord,  supported  well  the 
shock  of  oppositions,  and  the  waste  of  time?  Fixed  on  the  Rock  of 
ages,  they  shall  stand  forever.  Guarded  by  the  arm  of  the  Almighty, 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  them.  Ye  that  are  tempest- 
tossed  upon  the  world's  wide  waste,  seek  there  a  refuge,  and  ye  shall 


find  rest  for  your  Souls.  Ye  that  abide  within  its  sacred  walls,  remem- 
ber well, — at  the  last  day,  they  shall  be  the  shelter  only  of  the  faithful, 
in  Christ  Jesus,  the  home  of  the  holy  alone: 

"Thy  promise,  Lord,  is  ever  sure, 

"And  they  that  in  thy  house  would  dwell. 

"That  happy  station  to  secure, 
"Must  still  in  holiness  excel." 


APPENDIX  III 

Members  of  the  First  Vestry. 

Charles  Stedman,  the  first  Senior  Warden  of  the  Parish,  was 
confirmed  by  Bishop  Doane  in  the  year  1834,  and  he  remained  a  faithful 
communicant  till  the  day  of  his  death.  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  the 
Rev.  Noah  Schenck,  D.D.,  Rector  of  St.  Ann's  Church,  Brooklyn,  who 
often  visited  Princeton,  and  preached  from  the  pulpit  of  the  old  church. 
Mr.  Stedman  was  a  substantial  citizen  of  the  Borough,  and  did  much 
in  its  early  days  to  promote  its  development  and  growth.  His  business 
was  chiefly  that  of  the  erection  of  buildings,  public  and  private,  after 
plans  of  his  own  making.  The  street  now  called  Library  Place  was 
first  named  Stedman  Street  in  public  recognition  of  his  worth.  Mr. 
Hageman,  in  his  history  of  Princeton,  says  of  him  : 

"There  was  no  architect  and  builder  in  Princeton  who  gave  so 
many  years  and  so  much  capital  to  the  erection  of  buildings  as  Charles 
Stedman.  He  gave  half  a  century  to  this  business  in  this  place.  He 
owned  more  houses  than  any  other  man  in  Princeton.  He  built  every 
house  on  Stockton  Street,  except  the  barracks,  Mr.  Tulane's,  and  the 
original  part  of  Morven  ;  every  one  on  Stedman  Street,  many  on  Mercer, 
Canal,  and  other  streets.  He  built  the  Seminary  Chapel,  the  Society 
Halls  of  the  college,  the  Mansion  House,  the  old  Bank,  the  James 
Potter  House  west  of  the  Bank,  the  first  Episcopal  Church,  the  Epis- 
copal Rectory,  and  many  others.  He  was  a  careful  builder,  and  while 
his  style  of  architecture  has  been  succeeded  by  a  more  tasteful  one, 
some  of  his  largest  and  best  structures  are  numbered  among  the  first- 
class  houses  which  adorn  Princeton  at  the  present  time.  Henry  W. 
Leard  was  the  most  prominent  builder  next  to  Mr.  Stedman,  and  has 
erected  some  of  the  most  imposing  and  beautiful  structures  in  the 
town."  Mr.  Leard,  who  for  many  years  was  Vestryman,  built  the  new 
Church  and  rebuilt  the  Rectory  after  its  destruction  by  fire. 

"Like  enow 
They  are  building  still,  seeing  the  city  is  built 
To  music — therefore  never  built  at  all 
And  therefore  built  forever." 

Dr.  Tared  Irwin  Dunn,  the  first  Junior  Warden  of  the  Parish, 
was  one  of  the  principal  physicians  of  Princeton,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  very  skilful  and  successful  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He 
came  from  Washington,  D.  C,  and  married  a  daughter  of  Robert 
Bayles  of  Kingston,  who  is  commemorated  by  a  tablet  in  the  north 


transept  of  the  church.  One  of  his  daughters,  Virginia,  married  Pro- 
fessor Langlotz,  and,  although  removing  to  Trenton  soon  after,  re- 
tained great  interest  in  the  Parish  until  the  time  of  her  death.  An- 
other— Georgiana — was  married  to  the  Rev.  Leonidas  Coyle,  who  was 
for  many  years  a  Pastor  in  Bridgeton,  New  "Jersey.  She  also  has  kept 
alive  her  interest  in  the  Parish  in  which  her  early  days  were  spent. 
For  what  follows  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Hageman's  History  of 
Princeton  :  "Dr.  Dunn  had  a  large  practice  and  the  implicit  confidence 
of  his  patients.  He  took  much  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  served 
as  a  member  of  the  Borough  Council,  and  also  as  its  Mayor.  He  had 
many  warm  friends,  and  he  rendered  a  large  amount  of  professional 
service  to  the  poor  for  which  he  never  received  recompense.  In 
January,  1851,  the  community  was  not  a  little  shocked  to  hear  of  his 
death.  He  had  attended  the  inauguration  of  Governor  Fort  at  Trenton : 
and  in  the  evening  of  that  day,  about  nine  o'clock,  he  started  from  the 
Trenton  House,  in  his  sulky,  to  go  home — a  distance  of  ten  miles.  His 
horse  was  one  of  high  mettle,  but  was  supposed  to  be  safe  and  manage- 
able :  but  when  about  half  way  home,  started  and  ran  away,  dragging 
the  doctor  for  some  distance  and  leaving  him  dead  on  the  road.  He 
was  found  and  brought  to  his  home,  and  was  buried  in  the  Princeton 
Cemetery,  amidst  a  sympathizing  and  sorrowing  community.  His 
memory  is  still  cherished  by  some  of  our  older  citizens. 

John  Potter,  another  member  of  the  original  Vestry,  has  been 
frequently  mentioned  in  these  Records,  and  we  add  only  a  few  facts 
respecting  him,  chiefly  gleaned  from  Hageman's  "Princeton  and  its 
Institutions."  He  was  born  at  the  residence  of  his  grandfather,  John 
Stewart,  of  Baltimoran,  County  Down,  Ireland,  April  12th,  1768.  He 
emigrated  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  December  15th,  1784.  On  the 
voyage  the  vessel  was  wrecked,  and  he  lost  all  the  property  he  pos- 
sessed. He  began  business  in  Charleston,  and  by  industry  and  perse- 
verance soon  achieved  success  and  became  a  prominent  merchant,  with 
a  princely  fortune.  He  had  one  daughter  and  three  sons — William, 
James  and  Thomas  F.  Potter.  The  daughter — Harriet  Maria — was 
married  to  Robert  F.  Stockton,  then  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy,  and  this 
induced  Mr.  Potter  to  remove  to  Princeton  with  his  family  in  the 
year  1824.  He  purchased  the  beautiful  place  now  known  as  "Prospect," 
or  the  President's  House,  which  had  been  once  owned  by  Benjamin 
Fitz  Randolph,  the  father  of  Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph,  who  was  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  establishment  of  the  college  in  Princeton.  Here 
Mr.  Potter  resided  till  a  short  time  before  his  death,  when  he  and  Mrs. 
Potter  moved  into  Morven,  with  their  daughter,  Mrs.  Commodore 
Stockton,  and  died  there.  The  establishment  of  an  Episcopal  Church 
in  Princeton  was  largely  effected  by  his  money  and  energy.     He  was 


"3 

a  man  of  strong  religious  feeling,  and  a  very  regular  attendant  upon 
public  worship.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Potter  were  highly  esteemed  for 
their  pure  and  excellent  religious  character.  He  was  a  good  steward 
of  his  large  wealth,  and  besides  providing  generously  "for  his  own," 
gave  liberally  also  to  the  church  and  to  all  benevolent  objects  claiming 
his  assistance.  Mrs.  Potter  died  in  1848,  after  a  union  of  fifty-seven 
years,  and  he  died  on  October  24th,  1849.  Both  are  lying  in  the  family 
burying  ground,  near  the  chancel  of  the  church. 

Commodore  Robert  Field  Stockton  has  also  been  referred  to  in 
these  Records,  as  a  member  of  the  first  Vestry,  and  as  taking  an  active 
part  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  establishment  of  the  Parish  in 
Princeton.  We  add  here  a  brief  delineation  of  his  private  and  public 
life,  drawn  chiefly  from  Samuel  J.  Bayard's  biography  of  him.  His 
life  was  full  of  stirring  incident  and  dramatic  movement.  In  the 
various  stages  and  spheres  of  action  through  which  it  ran  its  course 
we  confine  ourselves  to  a  few  passages  in  it  which  throw  light  on  his 
moral  and  religious  character.  His  biographer  tells  us  that  his  boy- 
hood furnished  strong  indications  of  the  character  by  which  he  was 
afterwards  distinguished.  All  its  principal  features  were  displayed  in 
his  early  youth.  Personal  courage,  a  high  sense  of  honor,  an  intolerable 
hatred  of  injustice,  united  with  unbounded  generosity,  and  devoted 
attachment  to  his  friends,  were  traits  of  his  disposition  which  marked 
him  as  a  decided  and  original  character  while  at  school.  He  entered 
Princeton  college  in  the  freshman  class  when  in  his  thirteenth  year,  and 
was  soon  distinguished  for  his  industry  and  proficiency.  But  before 
his  graduation  the  impending  war  with  Great  Britain  and  the  fame  of 
Nelson  on  the  sea  fired  his  young  heart,  and  induced  him  to  emulate 
the  exploits  of  the  great  British  captain.  He  relinquished  his  college 
pursuits  for  the  navy,  sought  a  midshipman's  warrant,  and  received 
his  commission,  bearing  date  September,  181 1.  Although  his  college 
course  was  thus  ended,  he  did  not  deem  his  education  complete,  but 
embraced  every  opportunity  for  improvement  put  within  his  reach. 
Guided  by  the  instincts  of  good  sense  and  sound  judgment,  he  pursued 
at  all  intervals  of  leisure  from  active  duty  such  a  course  of  reading,  and 
such  studies,  as  were  calculated  to  be  of  the  greatest  practical  utility. 
Moral  and  ethical  philosophy,  the  law  of  nations  and  history  consti- 
tuted the  principal  subjects  of  his  attention.  The  Bible,  Cicero,  Shakes- 
peare and  Lord  Bacon  were  his  favourite  studies.  Whatever  subjects 
he  investigated  he  did  so  thoroughly.  Later  in  his  life,  Professor  Albert 
B.  Dod  remarked  of  him  that  he  was  the  most  extraordinary  and  best 
informed  man  he  had  ever  met.  He  early  prescribed  for  himself  a  line 
of  conduct  in  which  he  persevered  through  all  his  days.  His  love  of 
pleasure  or  society  never  tempted  him  to  neglect  his  duty,  nor  to.tres- 


H4 

pass  upon  the  rules  of  sobriety;  and  to  his  habitual  temperance,  not- 
withstanding the  seductions  of  naval  life,  his  capacity  for  mental  and 
physical  endurance  was  largely  due.  After  ten  years  of  service,  during 
which  he  won  much  distinction  for  bravery  and  skill  in  naval  warfare, 
he  returned  to  Princeton,  not  yet  satisfied  with  the  fame  he  had  won. 
He  became  much  interested  in  the  American  Colonization  Movement, 
and  with  the  consent  of  the  Navy  Department  acceded  to  the  wishes 
of  the  Colonization  Society  that  he  should  go  to  the  coast  of  Africa 
and  secure  a  more  eligible  site  for  the  American  colony  which  had  been 
planted  there.  He  sailed  on  this  expedition  in  the  fall  of  1821,  and 
after  encountering  many  difficulties  and  dangers  succeeded  in  attaining 
its  object.  He  acquired  the  territory  which  is  now  the  flourishing 
republic  of  Liberia,  and  of  which  the  Colonization  Society  soon  took 
possession.  His  name  thus  became  associated  in  history  with  the 
names  of  the  founders  of  this  prosperous  state :  for  its  original  acqui- 
sition must  be  ascribed  to  his  prudence  and  valor. 

While  on  the  coast  of  Africa  he  captured  several  vessels  engaged 
in  the  slave  trade  under  false  colors.  The  right  of  capture  was  tested 
in  the  Court  of  the  United  States  and  justified.  Daniel  Webster  was 
Lieutenant  Stockton's  counsel ;  and  in  later  life,  at  Mr.  Webster's 
request,  Mr.  Stockton  wrote  his  celebrated  letter  on  Slavery,  which 
was  characterized  as  the  most  masterly,  statesmanlike,  national  and 
comprehensive  view  of  the  subject  which  had  ever  been  taken  by  any 
public  man. 

Returning  to  the  United  States  from  Africa,  he  was  ordered  south 
with  a  party  to  survey  the  southern,  coast  of  the  United  States,  and 
while  there  he  was  married  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  Harriet 
Maria  Potter,  only  daughter  of  John  Potter,  before  mentioned.  After 
marriage  he  was  permitted  to  remain  in  Princeton  some  time,  and 
while  here  promoted  the  organization  of  the  New  Jersey  Colonization 
Society  and  was  elected  its  first  President.  We  pass  over  a  number 
of  years  in  which  he  continued  in  the  naval  service, — making  a  cruise 
to  the  Mediterranean,  and  constructing  the  illfated  ship  of  war 
Princeton, — until  we  reach  the  year  1845,  when  he  was  ordered  to  the 
frigate  Congress  and  sailed  to  the  Pacific,  conveying  the  American 
Minister  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  Rev.  Walter  Colton  was  chap- 
lain to  the  Congress,  and  to  his  diary,  kept  on  this  voyage,  and  pub- 
lished subsequently  under  the  title  of  "Deck  and  Port,"  we  are  indebted 
for  several  interesting  notices  of  the  Commodore.  In  one  he  says 
"Commodore  Stockton,  who  has  always  taken  an  interest  in  our  religious 
exercises,  having  occasion  to  speak  to  the  crew  to-day,  I  induced  him 
to  extend  his  remarks  to  topics  more  sacred  than  those  which  lay 
within  his  original  purpose.  He  spoke  of  the  Bible  as  that  crowning 
revelation  which  God  has  made  of  Himself  to  man,  of  its  elevating 


H5 

influence  on  the  human  soul,  of  the  priceless  counsels  which  it  conveys, 
and  of  the  immortal  hopes  which  it  awakens.  He  commended  its 
habitual  study  to  the  officers  and  crew  as  our  only  infallible  rule  of 
duty — as  our  only  safe  guiding  light  in  the  mental  and  moral  twilight  of 
our  being  here.  He  rebuked  the  idea  that  religion  was  out  of  its 
element  among  sailors,  and  told  them  that  of  all  classes  of  men  they 
were  the  ones  that  most  needed  its  restraining  influences  and  glorious 
promises,  and  denounced  as  insane  a  disposition  to  trifle  with  its 
precepts.  Such  remarks  as  these,  coming  from  the  commander  of  a 
ship  or  squadron,  will  do  more  to  sustain  a  chaplain  in  the  discharge 
of  his  difficult  duties  than  any  privileges  which  can  be  conferred  upon 
him  through  the  provisions  of  law.  They  honor  the  heart  from  which 
they  flow,  and  their  influences  will  be  felt  in  the  moral  well  being  of 
hundreds  when  that  heart  shall  cease  to  beat." 

Mr.  Colton  describes  another  interesting  scene  when  the  Com- 
modore addressed  an  auditory  of  three  thousand  people  assembled  for 
worship  in  the  King's  Chapel  in  Honolulu.  They  had  come  together 
under  the  vague  expectation  that  the  Commodore  might  address  them : 
for  a  report  to  that  effect,  without  the  Commodore's  knowledge,  had 
been  circulated  about  the  town.  I  felt,  in  common  with  the  mission- 
aries, a  desire  that  they  should  not  be  disappointed.  But  as  the  Com- 
modore was  wholly  unprepared,  and  averse  to  any  arrangements  which 
might  seem  to  trench  upon  proprieties,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  have 
their  wishes  realized.  I  took  the  liberty  of  expressing  to  the  people 
the  hope  that  he  would  consent  to  address  them.  The  Commodore 
was  sitting  at  the  time  by  the  side  of  the  King,  and  while  the  choir 
were  singing  a  hymn,  I  descended  from  the  pulpit  and  urged  with  him 
the  public  expectation.  He  finally  assented,  and,  taking  the  platform 
under  the  pulpit  commenced  a  train  of  pertinent  and  eloquent  remarks. 
Mr.  Colton  gives  a  synopsis  of  the  address,  which  was  upon  the  Bible, 
as  pointing  out  to  nations  the  read  to  prosperity  and  peace,  and  to 
individuals  the  path  to  happiness  in  this  world  and  the  next.  At  the 
conclusion  the  King  and  Chiefs  came  up,  and  with  undisguised  emotion 
thanked  the  Commodore  for  his  address.  The  Commodore  may  win 
laurels  on  the  deck,  but  none  that  can  bloom  more  lastingly  than  these. 
If  there  be  consolation  in  death,  they  flow  from  efforts  made  and 
triumphs  won  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  God. 

In  1849  the  Commodore  resigned  his  command  in  the  navy.  He 
next  appears  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  of  which  honorable 
body  he  was  for  a  brief  time  an  able  and  useful  member.  One  of  his 
best  speeches  was  in  support  of  a  bill  to  abolish  flogging  in  the  navy. 

After  he  withdrew  from  the  Senate  he  gave  his  attention  to  his 
private  business,  and  to  the  interests  of  the  joint  companies  of  which 
he  was  President.     He  died  at  Morven,  his   Princeton  residence,  after 


n6 

a   short   illness,    on    October   7th,    1866.      Bishop    Odenheimer    and    the 
Rev.  A.  B.  Baker  conducted  the  funeral  service. 

It  is  evident  from  this  brief  sketch  that  Commodore  Stockton  was 
a  man  of  strong  religious  sentiments  and  an  open  and  avowed  believer 
in  God,  and  in  the  revelation  made  of  Him  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 
He  attended  the  worship  of  the  church  with  regularity  when  at  home, 
and  tried  to  carry  out  the  precepts  of  the  Bible  in  his  daily  life.  His 
fame  as  soldier,  sailor,  orator  and  statesman  has  .been  spread  through- 
out the  country,  and  the  world — it  is  ours  also  to  cherish  the  virtues  of 
his  essential  manhood,  and  the  memories  of  his  private  life  and  char- 
acter bequeathed  to  the  Parish  and  the  town. 

The  Hon.  John  Renshaw  Thomson  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
and  resided  there,  till  early  manhood  when  he  went  to  China,  and 
became  Consular  Agent  for  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
Returning  to  his  native  city  in  1825,  he  married  Miss  Annis  Stockton, 
a  sister  of  Commodore  Robert  F.  Stockton,  and  this  led  to  his  re- 
moval to  Princeton  where  he  continued  to  live  till  his  death.  He  built 
the  handsome  residence  opposite  Morven,  and  so  embellished  its  grounds 
that  they  became  the  admiration  of  all  visitors  to  Princeton.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  first  vestry  of  the  Parish,  and  elected  also  its  first 
Secretary.  The  records  of  its  first  meetings,  and  also  the  various 
meetings  preliminary  to  the  organization  of  the  Parish  are  in  his 
script,  and  bear  his  signature ;  and  they  evince  a  purpose  on  the  part 
of  the  writer  to  preserve  and  transmit  to  posterity  a  full  and  carefully 
prepared  account  of  all  that  related  to  the  establishment  of  the  church 
in  Princeton.  Accuracy,  thoroughness,  fidelity  to  duty  were  marks 
of  his  character ;  and  these  qualities  were  displayed  in  whatever  he 
undertook  in  private  or  public  life.  He  attended  assiduously  to  his 
official  duties  as  director  and  secretary  of  the  Canal  and  Railroad  Com- 
panies, and  as  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  to  which  high  office 
he  was  elected  in  the  year  1853.  Mr.  Thomson  retained  this  office 
till  his  death,  which  occurred  a  few  months  before  the  expiration  of  its 
term.  Although  he  did  not  often  participate  in  the  debates  of  the 
Senate,  he  was  very  efficient  in  the  business  of  its  committees  and  very 
regular  and  attentive  to  all  the  duties  of  his  senatorial  office.  Having 
lost  his  first  wife  he  married  Miss  Josephine  Antoinette  Ward,  a 
daughter  of  Gen.  Aaron  Ward,  of  Sing  Sing,  New  York,  and  she,  after 
his  decease  became  the  wife  of  ex-Governor  Swann  of  Maryland  and 
lived  in  Princeton  till  her  departure  two  years  ago.  Mr.  Thomson 
died  at  his  Princeton  home  on  the  12th  of  September  1862,  and  his 
funeral  was  attended  by  a  large  company  of  distinguished  personal 
friends,  and  by  many  citizens  of  the  Borough.  Bishop  Odenheimer,  who 
ministered  to  him  in  his  last  sickness,  was  present  and  took  part  in  the 
burial  service.     The  bulk  of  his  large  estate  has  reached  the  treasury 


117 

of  Princeton  University,  but  there  are  thirteen  thousand  dollars  of  it 
also  in  the  Endowment  Fund  of  the  Parish  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
founders. 

The  Hon.  Richard  Stockton  Field  was  not  in  the  Vestry  first 
elected  in  the  Parish  in  1833  but  became  a  member  of  that  body  at  the 
second  election  held  a  year  later.  He  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy 
made  by  the  resignation  of  John  R.  Thomson,  who  after  a  year's 
service  felt  unable  to  continue  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
office.  Mr.  Field  must  therefore  be  classed  among  the  Founders  of 
the  Parish,  and  we  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  him  for  the  great  interest 
he  took  in  all  its  affairs,  in  the  early  years  of  its  history.  He  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Thomson  as  secretary  of  the  Vestry,  and  for  a  number 
of  years  very  carefully  recorded  the  proceedings  of  the  body.  He  also 
served  on  several  of  its  most  important  committees,  and  usually  con- 
ducted its  correspondence  with  Clergy  invited  to  become  Rectors  of 
the  Parish,  or  to  officiate  as  occasional  supplies.  He  was  a  very  gen- 
erous contributor  to  the  Parish,  and  to  all  charitable  and  humane 
objects,  and  when  the  new  Church  was  built,  gave  a  strip  of  land  which 
enlarged  the  area,  and  straightened  the  lines  of  the  Church  lot.  There 
is  an  excellent  account  of  his  life  and  services  in  Mr.  Hageman's 
History  of  Princeton,  from  which  we  make  a  few  extracts. 

Mr.  Field  graduated  at  Princeton  in  the  class  of  1821  and  studied 
law  with  his  uncle  Richard  Stockton,  who  was  then  in  the  zenith  of  his 
professional  success  and  honor.  He  began  the  practice  of  law  in 
Salem,  New  Jersey,  where  he  married  Miss  Mary  Ritchie,  and  where  he 
resided  till  the  year  1833  when  he  returned  to  Princeton  and  opened  a 
law  office.  His  residence  was  on  the  property  now  owned  by  the 
Parish,  on  Stockton  street,  opposite  Morven,  and  used  as  a  girls' 
school.  He  was  made  Attorney  General  of  the  State  in  1838,  and  in 
1847  he  was  elected  Professor  in  the  Law  School  of  Princeton  College. 
To  further  the  interests  of  that  department  of  the  College,  he  erected 
on  his  own  ground  and  at  his  own  expense,  the  stone  building  on  Mercer 
street  known  as  Ivy  Hall,  which  has  also  recently  come  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Parish. 

In  1862  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Olden  to  fill  a  vacancy  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  caused  by  the  death  of  Hon.  John  R.  Thom- 
son, but  when  the  term  expired,  the  Legislature,  being  Democratic,  did 
not  reappoint  him.  While  in  the  Senate  he  delivered  an  able  eulogy 
on  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Thomson. 

In  1863  Mr.  Field  was  nominated  by  President  Lincoln  and  con- 
firmed by  the  Senate,  as  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  Court  for  the  District  of 
New  Jersey,  which  office  he  filled  with  great  ability  till  his  last  sickness 
in  1870.  He  was  much  interested  in  the  subject  of  education  and  no 
citizen  of  the  State  labored  more  persistently  and  successfully  for  the 


n8 

improvement  of  the  public  school  system  of  the  State — especially  for 
that  branch  of  it  known  as  the  Normal  School.  He  was  also  much 
interested  in  the  subject  at  home  and  labored  perseveringly  to  improve 
the  Parish  School  of  the  Church,  and  afterward  the  Public  School  of 
the  Borough.  He  was  preeminent  among  the  members  of  the  New 
Jersey  bar  for  his  love  and  study  of  literature.  His  library  was  well 
supplied  with  the  most  valuable  Law  books ;  it  was  also  furnished  with 
the  choicest  classics,  and  the  rarest  productions  of  modern  scholars. 
Everything  around  him  bore  testimony  to  his  fine  literary  and  aesthetic 
culture.  In  1869  he  delivered  an  address  before  the  American  Whig 
Society,  at  its  centennial  celebration,  which  brought  him  many  con- 
gratulatory letters  from  esteemed  scholars  and  friends. 

He  was  a  man  of  warm  impulses  and  enthusiasms,  with  a  generous 
nature,  and  a  high  sense  of  honor.  In  social  life  he  was  genial,  refined, 
polished  and  hospitable.  He  was  always  ready  to  help  any  enterprise, 
institution,  or  individual  in  need  of  assistance,  and  no  one  who  applied 
to  him  for  aid  was  ever  denied  or  disappointed.  He  was  the  last  of  the 
galaxy  of  prominent  and  distinguished  men  of  a  past  generation,  who 
by  their  education,  talents  and  social  position,  had  gained  high  official 
dignities,  and  a  wide  public  reputation  and  had  shed  upon  Princeton 
peculiar  honor.  He  died  on  the  25th  of  May,  1870,  and  was  buried  in 
the  Princeton  Cemetery  by  the  Rev.  Alfred  B.  Baker,  assisted  by  the 
Rev.  Asa  S.  Colton. 

We  have  been  able  to  learn  but  little  of  two  other  members  of  the 
Vestry,  C.  W.  Taylor  and  C.  H.  VanCleve. 

C.  Houston  Van  Cleve  was  the  son  of  Dr.  John  Van  Cleve,  one 
of  the  most  respectable  physicians  of  Princeton.  He  studied  law  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  New  Jersey  in  1830,  but  soon  removed  to  the 
West  where  he  died  many  years  ago. 

Mr.  Taylor's  name  is  on  the  list  of  original  communicants,  but  does 
not  appear  on  any  other  Parochial  list. 


APPENDIX  IV 

Substance  of 

A  Sermon  Memorial 

of 

The  Rev.  Charles  Woodruff  Shields,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Preached  in  Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  N.  J.,  Friday,  December  9,  1904. 

BY 

Henry  C.  Potter,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Joseph   is   a   fruitful  bough;   a   fruitful   bough 
by   a   well ;    his   branches    run    over    the   well. 
Genesis  xlix  22. 

The  incident,  from  the  story  of  which  I  take  these  words,  has  an 
eminently  significant  introduction.  It  is  the  story  of  Jacob's  farewell 
to  his  sons  ;  and  is  introduced,  as  you  will  remember,  with  the  words, 
'And  Jacob  called  unto  his  sons  and  said :  Gather  yourselves  to- 
gether, that  I  may  tell  you  that  which  shall  befall  you  in  the  latter  days." 
Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  to  consider  how  little  of  their  future,  after 
all,  Jacob  did  tell  them?  Here  and  there,  in  those  strange  and  weird 
farewell  words  of  his,  there  is  a  brief  lifting  of  the  curtain  that  hides 
the  future ;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  is,  so  far  as  there  is  prophecy  at  all, 
a  prophecy  suggested  by  the  past.  The  man — Rueben,  Simeon,  Issachar 
— whoever  he  is,  has  given  certain  disclosures  of  his  character,  in  cer- 
tain base,  or  wise,  or  noble  acts,  and  these  forecast  the  rest.  Jacob,  in 
one  word,  is,  after  all,  only  so  much  of  a  prophet  as  he  is  made  com- 
petent to  anticipate  the  future  from  the  past.  A  man's  conduct  and 
character  in  one  set  of  emergencies,  issues,  allurements,  reveal  what  he 
is  likely  to  be  in  another ;  and  so,  my  young  brothers,  when,  in  your 
hot  youth,  you  hear  the  kindly  but  cautionary  tones,  of  riper  years 
admonishing  you,  do  not  be  too  swift  to  say  "Oh,  he  is  a  back  number, 
an  old  fogy,  a  bourbon ;  I  can  not  undertake  to  be  governed  by  his 
standards !"  Jacob  was  an  old  man,  but  he  was  not  a  stupid  man ;  and, 
as  he  sat  quietly  at  one  side  of  that  swift  current  of  life  in  which  his 
sons  were  struggling  for  the  prizes  of  their  day,  he  had  measured  them 
up  with  unerring  accuracy;  and  could  forecast  their  future  from  their 
past. 

What  a  fine  and  interesting  future  it  is  that  he  foresees  for  Joseph ! 
In  Joseph  we  seem  to  have  that  most  engaging  type  of  man  who  is  not 
only  exemplary,  but  benignant ; — who  unites  virtue  with  kindliness,  and 
who,  best   of  all,   is   endowed   with   a   certain   affluence   of   beneficence 


which  Jacob  can  symbolize  by  nothing  so  accurately  as  the  "fruitful 
bough  whose  branches  run  over  the  wall."  It  is  this  quality  which  has 
in  it,  not  alone  the  most  attractive,  but  the  most  distinctly  Christian 
characteristics ;  for  it  is  distinctive  of  the  Man  Christ  Jesus  that  He 
reveals  to  us  the  divine,  not  so  much  in  acts  of  seclusion  and  re- 
serve, as  in  those  of  what  I  might  call,  if  they  were  not  His,  utter 
naturalness.  He  is  accessible  to  everybody;  and,  best  of  all,  His 
beneficence  has  in  it  an  overflowing  quality  which  can  not  but  bless 
and  heal  one  who  only  comes  behind  in  a  crowd,  and  touches  the  hem 
of  His  garment.  There  are  people — we  all  know  them,  that  have  no 
smallest  doubt  that  they  are  very  good  people — whose  attitude  toward 
their  fellow-men  is  chiefly  interrogatory  or  austere;  they  own  gladly 
their  duty  to  serve  their  kind,  but  you  must  bring  a  certificate  of 
character  before  they  can  consent  to  serve  you.  And  then,  there  are 
others  in  whom  the  impulse  of  beneficence  is  so  rich,  and  the  love  of 
their  fellow-men  so  real,  that,  freed  from  self-consciousness  or  sus- 
picion, they  go  through  the  world  breathing  benedictions  in  all  that  they 
are  and  do. 

It  is  because  Dr.  Charles  Woodruff  Shields  always  impressed  me 
as  such  a  man,  that  I  have  chosen  Jacob's  words  as  the  motto  for  this 
discourse.  I  came  to  know  Dr.  Shields  when  he  was  spending  his 
summers  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  where  he  had,  as  I  then  had,  a 
summer  home.  The  foremost  impression  which,  then,  he  made  upon 
me,  was  of  his  benignity — and  modesty.  He  was  at  that  time — about 
twenty-five  years  ago — a  man  of  recognized  distinction  in  his  high 
calling ;  a  man  of  exceptional  gifts  and  achievements  in  his  profes- 
sion ;  and  a  thinker  whose  genius,  I  must  be  permitted  to  say,  "blazed" 
a  way  for  many  an  inferior  mind  to  follow  him,  that  never  recognized 
the  large  nobility  of  Dr.  Shield's  vision.  Earlier  than  most  men  of  his 
time,  he  saw  the  essential  oneness  of  Science  and  Religion,  and  broke 
away  from  traditions  of  the  latter  which  have  often  transformed  con- 
spicous  leaders  of  a  Reformed  Faith  into  blind  followers  of  an  ob- 
scurantism which,  in  the  official  utterances  of  Latin  Christianity,  have, 
as  Lippold  has  shown  in  his  "Papacy  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,"  made 
Papal  Encyclicals  fit  subjects  both  for  mirth  and  for  mourning,  among 
Christian  scholars. 

In  1840  he  was  entered  as  a  Freshman  in  a  Class  which  contained 
among  others,  at  least  a  half  dozen  men  of  exceptional  gifts  and 
promise, — e.  g.,  Charles  G.  Leland,  Dr.  James  C.  Welling,  later  Presi- 
dent of  the  Columbian  University,  Governor  Colquitt  of  Georgia,  the 
Honorable  H.  S.  Little,  and  Colonel  Edward  Wright,  of  this  State,  and 
others.  The  relation  of  these  men  and  others  like  them, — among  Dr. 
Shield's  classmates  as  theological  students  were  the  late  Bishop  Little- 
john  and  the  Reverend  Dr.  W.  W.  Lord, — to    Dr.  Shield's  future  was, 


I  apprehend,  far  more  potential  than,  ordinarily,  we  are  wont  to 
recognize.  In  every  Class  in  College  there  are  a  few  men  who  think, — 
to  whom  College  life  is  not  a  mere  routine;  and  who,  in  encountering 
the  questions  which  their  studies,  especially  if  those  studies  are  of  a 
speculative  character,  bring  up,  are  provoked  to  discussions  among 
themselves  which,  if  not  of  immediate,  are  destined  to  be  of  remote, 
value  of  a  very  high  order.  With  young  Shields  this  was  unques- 
tionably the  case.  Long  afterwards  he  referred  to  nightly  debates  with 
congenial  friends,  which,  starting  with  the  topics  of  the  day,  political, 
social,  or  economic,  ran  on  and  out,  into  realms  which,  with  a  higher 
training  and  wider  vision,  came  to  include  the  fundamental  questions 
of  philosophy  itself. 

When,  after  his  graduation  from  College,  in  1844,  he  entered 
Princeton  Seminary  to  prepare  himself  for  the  ministry  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  we  can  well  understand  that  those  questions  did  not 
become,  to  the  young  scholar,  less  interesting.  There  was  a  lull  in  the 
air  just  then;  and  the  ancient  formularies  in  which  this  youth  had 
been  bred  and  nurtured  still  held  a  sway  which,  as  we  look  back  upon 
it,  is  full  of  interesting  suggestions.  But  men  had  not  ceased  to  think 
because  they  were  taught  the  Westminster  Catechism,  or  required  to 
subscribe  to  the  Westminster  Confession.  Young  Shields,  however, 
passed  out  of  the  Princeton  Seminary,  accepting,  I  presume  ex  animo, 
all  that  had  been  taught  there.  He  went,  first,  to  a  pastorate  at  Hemp- 
stead, Long  Island ; — I  suppose  that  this  was  in  1847 ;  and  thence,  in 
1850,  to  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
remained  until  1865.  I  wonder  how  he  'relished  the  fierce  sectarian 
antagonisms  which  rent  Philadelphia  in  those  days?  I  was  a  boy  in 
Philadelphia,  at  that  time,  and  I  can  remember  how  swift  we  of  dif- 
ferent communions  were  to  fasten  upon  one  another's  failings,  and 
how  little  love  was  lost — or  found — between  us !  And  yet  all  the  while, 
then,  as  now,  there  was  a  Divine  substratum  of  Truth  that  should  have 
bound  warring  Sects  together,  and  made  the  Kingdom  of  God  real  to 
the  eyes  of  men  by  the  love  that  shone  in  the  faces  of  its  disciples  ! 
But  what  was  most  prized,  then,  was  a  master  of  polemics ;  and  if  the 
modern  Christian  did  not  take  pleasure  in  Jonathan  Edwards'  sug- 
gestion that  one  of  the  joys  of  Paradise  would  be  looking  from  its 
battlements  on  the  errorists  who  were  seething  in  hell,  there  is  little 
doubt  that  the  orthodox  believer,  when  he  looked  at  his  heterodox 
neighbor,  complacently  thanked  God  that  he  was  not  as  other  men  were. 

Does  anybody  wonder  that  the  sensitive  and  devout  scholar 
turned  from  a  ministry  in  which  it  was  often  demanded  that  the 
preachers  should  meet  such  expectations  or  to  be  lectured  by  his  deac- 
ons— turned,  I  say,  trom  such  a  conception  of  the  office  of  the  pulpit 
to  the  Professor's  chair.     At  any  rate,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  when 


Dr.  Shields  was  called  here,  to  the  Professorship  of  the  Harmony  of 
Science  and  Revealed  Religion,  he  came  with  a  glad  alacrity.  Already 
there  had  dawned  upon  him  that  great  conception  of  which  his 
"Philosophia  Ultima"  was  the  earliest  disclosure.  Already  he  had  seen, 
with  strong  persuasion,  that  the  revelation  of  God  in  His  universe, 
whether  in  nature,  in  philosophy,  or  in  religion,  were,  as  they  were 
from  one  Source  and  the  expressions  of  one  Mind,  but  parts  of  one 
Whole ;  and  while  other  men  were  wrangling  about  what  they  ig- 
norantly  conceived  to  be  irreconcilable  differences  in  these  dis- 
closures, or  else  fled,  panic-stricken,  as  some  of  them  did,  to  some 
ecclesiastical  standing-ground  which  substituted  an  arbitrary  dictum 
for  a  divine  and  rational  order,  Dr.  Shields  ascended  to  those  upper 
levels  where  his  great  mind  seized  upon  the  unifying  truths  that  lay 
behind  these  apparent  differences,  and  swung  them  into  view  with 
something  of  that  inspired  discernment  which  breaks  upon  the  ear  in 
Addison's  matchless  hymn 

In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice. 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice ; 
Forever  singing  as  they  shine,    . 
"The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine." 

The  necessary  limits  of  such  an  occasion  as  this  makes  it  impos- 
sible for  me  to  do  justice  to  Dr.  Shields  as  a  thinker,  or  to  depict  his 
relation  to  the  higher  realms  of  philosophy  as  his  altogether  ex- 
ceptional services  deserve.  One  of  his  pupils  has  said,  *"With  the 
best  American  writers  in  constructive  philosophy,  I  am  fairly  well 
acquainted ;  and  my  own  deep  conviction  is  that  Dr.  Shields  was  the 
true  founder  of  systematic  and  constructive  philosophy  in  the  United 
States ;  logically  coming  before"  men  to  whom  ordinarily  that  honor 
has  been  conceded.  "Many  thinkers  have,  in  the  last  thirty  years, 
made  special  studies  of  great  value  in  several  departments  of  philosophy 
that  were  only  briefly  handled  by  Dr.  Shields  in  his  comprehensive 
synthesis.  But  his  pamphlet  of  1861  was  the  first  serious  projection  of 
a  comprehensive  cosmic  philosophy  ever  produced  in  this  country; 
and  his  subsequent  volumes  furnished  in  my  belief,  the  broadest 
foundations  for  Christian  theism  ever  laid.  Dr.  Shields,  when  he  began 
his  work,  was  a  man  so  far  in  advance  of  his  time  and  place,  that  no 
one  was  prepared  to  understand  him ;  and,  so  far  from  being  behind  his 
times,  to-day,  the  world  has  never  yet  caught  up  with  his  magnificent 
conception." 

There  remains  one  other  feature  in  the  history  of  Dr.  Shields,  of 
which  it  will,  of  course,  be  expected  that  I  should  speak  in  this  place, 
and  which  was  so  eminently  characteristic  of  Dr.  Shields  that  to  be 
silent  concerning  it  would,  I  think  be  equally  unintelligent  and  unjust. 

*Mr.  H.  W.  Rankin,  of  the  class  of  1873. 


123 

Dr.  Shields  became  somewhat  late  in  life,  a  Churchman,  and  took  orders 
in  the  Episcopal  Church.  In  order  to  see  the  reason  of  this,  we  need 
go  no  further  back  in  his  mental  history  than  to  that  point  in  his 
philosophic  studies  which  I  have  been  discussing.  We  have  seen  that, 
as  a  student  and  teacher  of  philosophy,  Dr.  Shields  was  enkindled  by 
what  I  conceive  to  have  been  a  really  sublime  dream  of  unification. 
Whether  it  was  mental,  physical,  or  theological,  science  with  which  he 
concerned  himself,  no  man  who  has  read  what  he  has  written  can  be 
insensible  to  the  great  ideal  which  brooded  above  all  that  he  said.  And 
if  it  did,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  Unity  in  the  realm  of 
Religion  interested  him,  most  of  all.  The  scholar  of  this  later  day 
has  no  difficulty  in  seeing  that  the  Sectarist  of  modern  times  may  well 
echo  the  exclamation  of  the  Roman  Centurion,  'With  a  great  sum  ob- 
tained I  this  freedom.''  The  Religious  Communities  that  broke  away, 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Papacy,  ran 
into  opposite  extremes  in  which  individualism  became  grotesque.  The 
Presiding  Bishop  told  me  not  long  ago,  that  a  religious  community  in 
the  West — a  community  of  which  most  of  you  never  heard,  but  which 
counts  its  disciples  by  thousands,  and  which  is  known  as  "the  Church 
of  the  Feet  Washers,"  has  lately  been  rent  by  a  schism  which  now, 
squarely  divided  it  into  two  "Churches,"  one  of  which  holds  to  the 
washing  of  both  feet,  as  a  part  of  public  worship,  and  the  other 
to  the  washing  of  only  one.  If  you  think  such  a  statement,  as  typical 
of  the  divisions  of  modern  denominationalism,  is  an  exaggeration,  get, 
if  you  dare,  the  statistics  of  denominations,  as  furnished  by  the  last 
census.  It  is  a  story  of  individualism  run  mad ;  and  the  conception 
of  him  who  seeks,  by  whatsoever  lawful  and  rational  means,  to  heal  it, 
is  born  of  God ! 

It  was  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  fine  spiritual  vision  of 
Dr.  Shields,  looking  over  the  vast  realm  of  Christendom  with  all  its 
mutual  misapprehensions ;  its  often  deadly  animosities ;  its  pathetic 
wastes  of  power  and  service,  should  turn  to  a  communion  which 
shared  with  him  a  grief  for  hands  which  rent  the  seamless  garment  of 
the  Common  Saviour ;  and  for  hearts  in  which  hatred  was  mistaken  for 
loyalty,  and  zeal  for  humility  and  love.  I  do  not  propose,  here,  to 
show  how  especially  adapted  for  that  great  movement  which  cul- 
minated in  the  Declaration  commonly  known  as  "the  Quadrilateral," 
and  adopted  by  the  Lambeth  Conference  of  1888,  was  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  this  land;  and  I  am  quite  ready  to  admit  that,  in  some  re- 
spects, the  Movement  with  which  "the  Quadilateral"  was  identified  was 
premature.  But  is  not  difficult  to  understand  with  what  force  such  a 
Movement  appealed  to  Dr.  Shields ;  nor,  with  what  especial  sympathy 
his  mind  turned  to  one — I  mean  Dr.  Littlejohn,  a  Classmate  of  Dr. 
Shields  in  the  Princeton  Theological   Seminary  and,  later,   Bishop  of 


124 

Long  Island,  to  whom  the  authorship  of  "the  Quadilateral"  has  been 
widely  credited.  Bishop  Littlejohn  and  Dr.  Shields  were  men  in  many 
things  greatly  unlike ;  but  in  their  common  abhorrence  of  a  divided 
Christendom,  and  in  their  common  interest  in  and  longing  for  any 
right  thing  that  would  end  it,  they  were  "of  one  heart  and  one  mind." 

Do  you  suppose,  now,  that  it  cost  Dr.  Shields  no  pang  to  sunder 
ties  and  end  companionships  which,  in  their  origin,  reached  back  for 
generations,  and  were  as  truly  a  part  of  his  mental  and  emotional 
identity  as  anything  can  be?  There  were  men  whom  he  met,  every 
day,  who  loved  and  honored  him, — as  who  that  really  knew  him  could 
help  doing, — and  who  had  no  smallest  doubt  as  to  the  honesty  of  his 
motives,  or  the  integrity  of  his  actions,  in  any  step  that  separated 
him  from  his  earlier  associates ;  but  who  could  never  forget, — and 
they  knew  that  they  never  could  forget — that  a  certain  action  had  been 
determined  upon  by  him,  and  that  a  certain  step  had  been  taken.  When 
these  men  met  him,  with  whatever  continuance  of  the  old  warmth  and 
cordiality,  they  knew,  and  he  knew,  that  there  was  one  group  of  sub- 
jects that  were  to  be  avoided,  and  one  realm  of  discussion  even  the 
outer  portals  of  which  were  never,  any  more,  to  be  opened ! 

And  yet  with  what  gentle  dignity  and  gracious  self-restraint,  through 
it  all,  he  bore  himself !  Yes,  and  with  what  true  nobility  of  largeness 
and  charity  did  this  ancient  University  bear  herself  toward  him !  One 
can  easily  imagine,  on  the  part  of  associates  and  authorities  from  whom 
he  separated,  something  of  resentment,  because  of  action  on  Dr.  Shields' 
part,  which  some  of  them  thought  inconsistent,  if  not  positively  dis- 
loyal. But  if  they  ever  thought  so,  they  never  said  so ;  or,  if  they  said 
so,  they  said  it  with  such  cautious  reserve  that  it  never  came  to  out- 
side ears.  And  I  must  confess,  for  myself,  that  there  has  always  seemed 
to  me  some  thing  especially  dear  and  beautiful  in  the  fact  that,  with 
Princeton,  its  social,  and  its  intellectual  life;  and,  best  of  all,  with  that 
great  University  in  which  so  long  he  was  a  professor — that  with  all 
these  Dr.  Shields  remained  identified  to  the  last !  Long  may  his  mem- 
ory survive  here  as  that  of  a  true  scholar,  a  pure,  and  most  lovable 
man,  who  brought  to  great  opportunities  great  gifts,  and  who  used 
them,  with   unwearied   fidelity,   for   God   and  man ! 

An  accomplished  young  woman  of  letters, — inheritor  of  a  great 
name  and  of  great  gifts,  has  lately  sketched  for  us,  in  her  charming 
"Roma  Beata,"  a  summer  storm,  as,  from  a  height,  she  saw  it  in  the 
Eternal  City.*  There  are  characters  like  such  a  storm,  with  all  its 
thunderous  and  impetuous  traits,  its  fierce  movements,  its  resistless 
rush,  its  torrential  outpourings.  Like  nothing  less  than  like  this,  was 
Dr.  Shields.  But  his  fine  and  clear  insight,  his  noble  and  lofty  sere- 
nity,   his    gentle    and   benignant    patience    gave,    no    less,    to    him    who 


*Maud  Howe  Elliot,  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe. 


understood  him,  the  sense  of  power ;  and  recalled  those  other  spec- 
tacles of  Nature  where  the  broad  and  peaceful  landscape  broods  be- 
neath the  sun ;  and  in  its  own  good  time  and  way,  bears  fruit  for  the 
service  of  man,  and  the  glory  of  God. 

Even  so  we  think  of  this  our  father  and  brother,  who  has,  for  a 
little,  gone  before  us.  He  has  sown,  and  we  shall  reap.  May  light 
perpetual  shine  upon  him,  and  fruit  eternal  spring  from  what  he 
sowed. 

Sermon  Preached  in  Trinity  Church 

by 

The  Rev.  A.  B.  Baker,  D.D., 

After  The  Death   of  Mr.   F.   S.   Conover. 

Second  Sunday  After  Easter,   1901. 

I  Peter  11:21.  Leaving  us  an  Example,  that  ye  should  follow  His 
steps. 

There  are  good  reasons  why  the  duty  of  following  the  Lord's  ex- 
ample should  be  put  forward  by  the  Church  while  the  great  Easter  truth 
is  still  lingering  in  the  mind.  It  is  a  duty  which  is  very  closely  as- 
sociated with  the  doctrine  of  the  Ressurection,  and  which  spring  nat- 
urally from  it,  as  the  first  practical  inference  it  suggests.  The  duty  is 
always  next  in  order  after  the  rejoicings  of  the  great  Easter  day,  and  so 
the  Church  links  it  on  to  our  exalted  faith,  and  makes  it  the  master  idea 
of  the  services  of  this  second  Sunday  of  the  Easter-tide.  None  can  have 
failed  to  notice  how  prominently  it  is  brought  to  view  in  the  Gospel, 
Epistle  and  Collect  for  the  day.  It  may  be  profitable  to  think  a  little 
more  at  length  of  the  reasons  why  the  Church  connects  "the  following" 
with  the  Resurrection  of  the  Lord. 

1.  One  of  these  obviously  is,  that  the  Resurrection  completes  the 
Ideal  which  our  Lord  presents  to  His  followers,  and  furnishes  a  model 
of  perfection  which  is  without  blemish  or  defect.  If  our  Lord  had  not 
arisen  from  the  dead  there  would  have  been  a  serious  lack  in  His 
example  and  character  considered  as  a  model  of  human  excellence. 
There  would  still  be  much  to  charm  us  in  the  record  of  His  life.  He 
would  still  have  left  behind  Him  as  He  passed  away,  the  fragrance  of  a 
celestial  purity  and  grace,  but  nevertheless,  he  would  seem  to  be  the 
great  disappointment  of  the  ages.  There  would  be  no  fulfillment  of  the 
splendid  expectations  He  created,  and  His  whole  life  work  would  seem 
to  be  in  vain.  There  would  be  nothing  to  vindicate  His  teachings,  to 
justify  His  sufferings,  or  substantiate  His  claims.  The  truth  He  taught 
would  lose  their  certitude,  and  His  example  would  be  shorn  of  its 
moral  power.  But  the  Resurrection  establishes  His  teachings  and 
rescues  His  example  from  the  moral  impotence  to  which  it  would  have 


126 

been  condemned.  We  have  now  an  Ideal  which  is  completely  satis- 
fying to  the  mind,  and  on  which  none  can  gaze  without  being  enrap- 
tured by  the  view.  We  have  an  example  which  is  absolutely  without 
a  flaw,  and  is  full  of  inspiration  to  those  who  try  to  follow  it.  Even 
those  who  are  not  numbered  with  His  followers  admit  the  charm  of  its 
perfection.  Many  a  glowing  tribute  to  our  Lord's  life  and  character 
may  be  found  in  the  writings  of  poets,  philosophers,  and  historians 
who  make  no  claim  to  be  called  Christians.  One  speaks  of  it  as  "a 
holy  form  which  rises  before  the  poor  pilgrim  like  a  star  in  the  night, 
and  satisfies  his  innermost  cravings,  and  most  secret  hopes."  Another 
refers  to  it  as  "a  beautiful  ideal  character  which  through  all  the  changes 
of  nineteen  centuries,  has  filled  the  hearts  of  men  with  ail  impassioned 
love" ;  and  still  another,  hails  the  Christ  as  the  mightiest  among  the 
holy,  and  the  holiest  among  the  mighty,  who  lifted  with  His  pierced 
hands  empires  off  their  hinges,  turned  the  stream  of  time  into  new 
channels,  and  still  governs  all  the  ages."  Tributes  similar  to  these  may 
everywhere  be  found.  The  beauty  and  perfection  of  the  Christ  Ideal 
is  universally  admitted  and  it  is  seen  to  combine  within  itself  every 
form  of  moral  excellence.  The  pattern  man  gathers  up  and  re- 
capitulates in  Himself  every  kind  of  grace  and  spiritual  beauty,  and  His 
character  is  thus  both  universal  in  its  type,  and  individual  in  its  appeal 
and  application.  Each  man  and  woman  may  look  at  Christ,  and  say, 
there  is  my  example.  Whatever  may  be  the  circumstances  of  our  lot, 
the  age  in  which  we  live,  the  mental  or  moral  traits  with  which  we  are 
endowed,  the  Christ-example  is  adapted  to  our  case,  and  was  framed  to 
meet  our  own  peculiar  need.  It  is  said  of  the  heroine  of  the  Iliad  that 
her  beauty  was  of  so  universal  a  type  that  all  men  who  looked  at  her  felt 
as  though  they  were  related  to  her.  So  do  all  feel  a  mysterious  re- 
lationship to  Jesus  Christ,  for  He  combines  in  Himself  the  universal  at- 
tributes of  humanity,  among  which,  each  man  may  find  the  image  of  his 
better  self.  Probably  the  universal  example  has  done  more  to  uplift  the 
race  than  all  the  abstract  truths  which  the  Heavenly  Teacher  taught. 
At  all  events,  the  example  has  put  a  power  into  the  truths,  which  with- 
out it,  they  never  would  possess.  "Mere  ideas,"  says  a  modern  novelist, 
"are  often  poor  ghosts,  our  sun  filled  eyes  cannot  discern  them,  they 
pass  athwart  us  in  their  vapor  and  cannot  make  themselves  felt.  But 
sometimes  they  are  made  flesh ;  they  breathe  upon  us  with  warm 
breath,  they  touch  us  with  soft  responsive  hands,  they  look  at  us  with 
sincere  eyes,  and  speak  to  us  in  appealing  tones,  they  are  clothed  in  a 
living  human  Soul,  with  all  its  conflicts,  its  faith  and  its  love.  Then 
their  presence  is  a  power,  then  they  shake  us  like  a  passion,  and  we  are 
drawn  after  them  with  gentle  compulsion,  as  flame  is  drawn  to  flame." 
This  is  true  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  teaching  of  the  Divine  Word  Who 


12/ 

was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  Who  exemplified  in  His 
beautiful  life  every  holy  doctrine  which  He  taught.  (2)  And  this  sug- 
gests another  reason  why  the  following  of  the  Lord  should  be  bound 
so  closely  to  His  Resurrection,  which  is  that  the  Resurrection  vitalises 
the  example,  and  imparts  to  it  a  present  life  and  power.  It  shows  the 
Christ  we  are  to  follow,  not  merely  as  one  who  once  lived  in  far  off 
ages,  and  who  only  affects  us  as  He  reaches  down  to  us  through  cen- 
turies and  from  the  dust  of  an  ancient  tomb,  but  as  one  who  is  nozv 
alive,  who  is  a  present  force  and  inspiration  in  our  human  life,  and 
with  whom  we  may  be  in  daily,  hourly  touch,  if  we  will  only  walk  with 
Him  by  the  way.  Without  His  present  help  we  would  meet  with  no 
success  in  our  following  of  the  high  ideal.  We  would  look  to  the  stain- 
less summits  of  His  Heavenly  purity,  only  to  say  "How  inaccessible  they 
are  !"     We  would  cry  with  the  poet : 

"O  snows  so  pure,  O  peaks  so  high, 
I  shall  not  reach  you  till  I  die." 

But  the  living  present  Christ  saves  us  from  so  great  discourage- 
ment, He  aids  us  by  His  helping  Spirit,  and  actually  infuses  into  His 
followers  the  virtues  and  graces  which  He  bids  them  to  imitate.  Co- 
operating with  Him  we  are  already  changed  into  His  likeness,  and  the 
promise  is  that  when  we  awake,  we  shall  be  satisfied  with  it.  (3)  Once 
more  the  Resurrection  exhibits  the  Christ-like  graces  as  immortal  in 
their  nature,  and  as  therefore  worth  the  seeking,  and  seeking  with  all 
the  ardor  we  can  throw  into  the  noble  quest.  Were  they  simply 
embellishments  of  a  being  who  perished  in  the  grave  they  would  have 
little  value ;  but  now  being  imperishable  attributes  of  our  immortal 
selves,  they  have  a  worth  which  no  arithmetic  of  earth  can  possibly 
compute.  For  these  and  other  reasons  which  might  be  named,  the 
following  of  the  Lord  is  but  the  natural  sequence  of  His  Resurrection ; 
and  to  the  duties  of  the  follower  we  ought  to  address  ourselves  with 
enthusiastic  ardor,  and  with  the  new  powers  of  the  risen  life. 

II  Now  my  dear  friends  it  is  our  privilege  to  help  and  encourage 
each  other  in  this  blessed  work.  The  good  success  of  one  copyist  may 
be  a  stimulus  to  another,  and  awaken  the  hope  that  he  too  may  accom- 
plish something  in  the  work  of  imitation.  No  good  life  is  without  a 
power  of  influence ;  the  lives  of  all  consistent  disciples  are  caught  up 
into  the  sphere  of  the  pattern  life,  and  acquire  something  of  its  power 
to  affect  the  mind,  charm  the  heart  and  stimulate  the  energies  of  the 
will.  They  are  turned  themselves  into  examples  endowed  with  a  cer- 
tain contagion  of  goodness.  They  become  illustrations  of  the  way  in 
which  weak  men  and  women  may  copy  the  lofty  excellencies  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  and  they  seem  to  proclaim  the  possibility  of  our  own  attain- 


128 

ment.  God  is  continually  raising  up  such  good  illustrators  of  the 
duties  of  discipleship,  whom  He  allows  to  encourage  us  as  we  walk 
together  in  life's  pathway,  and  even  after  their  earthly  course  is  done. 
They  cheer  and  help  us  while  they  are  here  on  earth,  and  when  they  go 
away  they  shed  down  a  holier  influence  on  the  ^pilgrim  path.  Such  a 
helper  in  the  following  was  he  whose  earthly  life  in  the  beginning  of  this 
Easter-tide  was  ended,  and  whom  we  then  bore  in  solemn  service  to  his 
burial.  For  many  a  year  he  was  a  good  exemplar  of  the  Christian 
life  before  the  eyes  of  this  whole  community,  and  more  particularly  of 
this  parish  family  to  which  he  belonged.  He  was  ardently  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  parish,  and  for  five  and  thirty  years  served  it  faith- 
fully as  its  treasurer.  His  departure  is  a  common  loss,  and  affects  not 
a  few  of  us,  as  a  personal  bereavement.  It  would  be  far  from  his  wish 
that  I  should  indulge  in  eulogy  of  his  character,  or  make  public  parade 
of  the  graces  which  shrank  from  ostentation,  and  were  jealous  of  the 
privacy  in  which  they  loved  to  hide,  but  still  such  a  life  cannot  be  al- 
together hidden.  It  is  the  property  of  the  community  and  it  has  lessons 
for  us  of  which  we  may  not  refuse  to  think.  Surely  we  may  briefly 
mention  two  or  three  of  the  characteristics  of  his  following  of  the 
Lord  on  which  it  will  be  helpful  to  reflect.  One  was  its  decisiveness. 
He  committed  himself  in  early  manhood  to  the  duties  of  the  Christian 
life,  and  that  action  was  for  him  conclusive.  Never  afterwards  was 
there  any  wavering,  and  question  or  debate.  He  had  taken  his  stand 
and  everyone  knew  where  to  find  him.  His  following  of  the  Shepherd 
was  positive,  resolute,  steadfast ;  it  was  always  conducted  from  settled 
principle,  and  with  fixed  intention.  What  an  example  he  has  left  be- 
hind to  those  who  refuse  to  commit  themselves  to  a  religious  life,  or 
having  made  the  committal,  follow  it  with  instability  or  indecision. 
There  are  many  all  around  us  who  are  trying  to  live  a  life  which  is 
intermediate  between  that  which  is  positively  Christian  and  that  which 
is  unmistakably  of  the  world.  They  are  not  decided  Christians  nor  are 
they  pronounced  worldlings.  They  seek  a  middle  way  between  God  and 
self,  and  that  they  try  to  follow  without  looking  for  much  help  from 
above,  or  having  any  lofty  faith  in  things  unseen.  For  our  departed 
brother  there  was  no  middle  way.  There  was  only  the  path  that  led  to 
God,  and  the  one  that  led  into  sin  and  death.  He  chose  the  path  of  life 
and  that  he  followed  without  pause  or  deviation.  The  various  duties 
of  the  Christian  life  he  discharged  with  a  regularity  and  method  which 
were  born  of  steadfast  principle.  It  was  his  fixed  habit  to  attend  the 
public  worship  of  the  Church,  and  two  services  a  day  were  not  too 
much  for  him.  He  was  punctual  in  meeting  all  the  demands  of  justice, 
righteousness,  brotherly  kindness  and  Christian  charity.  In  his  long 
sickness  he  daily  read  his  Bible  according  to  the  method  prescribed  by 


129 

the  Church,  listening  continually  for  the  Shepherd's  voice,  that  he  might 
follow  the  well  known  call.  He  looked  for  help  from  the  highest 
source  and  he  drew  his  motives  from  the  eternal  world  into  which  his 
plan  of  life  was  projected.  He  had  the  "anchor  of  the  soul  which  is 
sure  and  steadfast  and  which  entereth  into  that  within  the  veil."  The 
influence  of  such  steadfastness  in  a  wavering  and  unsettled  age  when 
so  many  have  "one  foot  on  sea  and  one  on  shore,  and  to  one  thing 
are  constant  never"  cannot  but  be  great,  and  out  of  it  will  long  come  a 
helpful  influence  to  ourselves  in  our  following  of  the  heavenly  way. 
Another  thing  that  strikes  us  about  the  character  of  the  departed  one, 
was  its  reality.  No  one  could  know  him  well  without  being  made  to 
feel  that  his  religion  was  genuine,  that  there  was  nothing  about  it  that 
was  counterfeit,  affected,  or  insincere.  He  knew  nothing  of  those 
phases  of  unreal  religion  which  are  current  in  the  world,  and  which 
sometimes  pass  as  genuine  like  the  wax  works  which  deceive  us  with 
the  show  of  life.  There  are  some  who  wear  religion  as  a  mere  mask ; 
with  others  it  is  but  a  decoration  of  the  surface  of  the  life,  and  with 
others  still,  it  is  a  variable  state  in  which  mere  emotionalism  is  made  to 
do  duty  for  solid  principle  and  fixed  habits  of  obedience.  Of  all 
such  kinds  of  fictitious  religion  the  character  of  our  departed  brother 
was  a  great  rebuke.  He  had  the  real  and  solid  thing.  He  had 
"truth  in  the  inward  parts."  He  always  felt  more  deeply  than  he  talked, 
and  his  words  and  acts  betrayed  a  character  which  was  sound  all  the 
way  through  and  was  the  outgrowth  of  fundamental  convictions,  and 
basal  facts  of  morality  and  religion.  Surely  such  a  life  encourages  us 
also  to  seek  reality,  to  follow  Christ  with  a  single  mind,  and  to  build 
up  this  spiritual  life  with  "the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and 
truth."  Still  another  trait,  closely  connected  with  the  foregoing  one, 
was  simplicity.  This  is  the  opposite  of  duplicity,  or  complexity  in 
motive,  spirit,  character  and  conduct.  It  is  to  be  natural,  spontaneous, 
and  free  from  artificiality.  It  is  an  elemental  property  of  the  Divinest 
things,  and  it  is  an  attribute  of  God  Himself.  The  greatest  truths  are 
the  simplest,  and  so  are  the  greatest  men.  Our  departed  brother  loved 
simplicity  and  nothing  could  "corrupt  his  mind  from  the  simplicity  that 
is  in  Christ." 

Not  to  mention  other  characteristic  traits,  we  simply  remark  that 
they  were  all  so  balanced  and  blended  together  as  to  give  the  impres- 
sion of  a  harmonious  and  symmetric  whole.  Often  the  possession  of  ex- 
cellencies of  a  certain  kind  is  associated  with  faults  or  defects  of  an 
opposite  nature,  and  a  single  trait  may  be  unduly  exaggerated  and 
thrown  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  rest.  Of  this  want  of  harmony 
there  is  little  trace  in  the  character  of  our  departed  friend.  There  is 
indeed  but  one  Being  who  has  ever  lived  on  earth  whose  character 


130 

is  absolutely  faultless  in  proportions,  but  there  is  less  to  mar  the 
effect  of  our  brother's  collective  traits  than  is  ordinarily  found  in  the 
followers  of  the  Lord.  Such  a  life  adds  something  to  our  responsibility, 
for  we  are  bound  to  make  a  good  use  of  its  example. .  It  also  adds  to 
our  hopefulness  and  strength,  for  it  encourages  us  to  persevere  in  all 
the  struggles  and  failures  of  the  better  way.  "Seeing,  let  us  take  heart 
again."  Cheered  by  the  example  of  this  good  man  in  his  active  days, 
and  in  the  long  period  of  suffering  when  he  could  do  nothing  but  trust 
and  patiently  wait,  let  us  take  up  the  duties  of  the  Christian  life  with 
fresh  zeal  and  courage.  We  shall  miss  the  inspiring  presence  of  the  de- 
parted one,  but  we  must  not  think  of  all  that  he  was  to  us  in  the  past, 
as  merely  so  much  remembered  loss.  We  must  not  think  of  the  past 
companionship  as  altogether  ended,  the  old  songs  of  love  and  home  as 
sung  out,  and  flung  into  eternal  silence ;  the  past  is  prophetic.  It  points 
forward  to  a  companionship  yet  to  come,  a  song  to  be  resumed  in  a  better 
world.  "To  remember,"  as  one  says,  "is  not  only  to  mourn,  it  is  also 
to  hope."  And  so  even  loving  memory  should  be  a  stimulus  to  present 
action.  The  old  love  and  companionship  are  an  abiding  force.  Exam- 
ple lives  on.  The  vitality  of  our  own  immortal  being  is  imparted  to  it. 
The  power  of  our  brother's  example  is  with  us  still.  Let  us  treasure 
it  up  and  use  as  we  ought  to  do.  His  following  of  Christ  is  not  yet 
done,  for  is  it  not  written  of  the  blessed  dead,  "They  follow  the  Lamb 
whithersoever  He  goeth"?  May  the  thought  of  the  heavenly  following 
descend  upon  us  like  a  benediction  !  May  the  memory  of  the  earthly 
be  an  abiding  source  of  inspiration  ! 

"God  calls  our  loved  one,  but  we  lose  not  wholly 
What  He  hath  given  : 
They  live  on  earth  in  thought  and  deed 
As  truly  as  in  His  heaven. 

And  He  is  with  us ;  in  our  path  of  trial 

He  walketh  yet : 
Still  with  the  baptism  of  our  self-denial 

His  locks  are  wet. 

Up  then,  my  brother !     Lo  the  footsteps  of  the  Lord 

Lie  plain  in  view : 
He  lives,  and  loves  thee,  and  the  God  thou  servest 

To  both  is  true. 

Bind  on  thy  sandals !     Weary  fellow-travelers 

Thy  call  abide : 
And  He  thou  mourns't,  a  pure  and  holp  presence, 

Shall  walk  beside." 


131 

A  Sermon  Preached  in  Trinity  Church 

by 

The  Rev.  Alfred  B.  Baker,  D.D., 

on   the   Sunday   after  the   Death   of   Mrs.    J.    Dundas   Lippincott, 

and  Printed  by  Request  of  a  Number  of  the  Congregation. 

Hebrews  vi.  12 — Followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience 
inherit  the  promises. 

The  supreme  demand  which  the  Scriptures  make  upon  the 
Christian  is  that  he  should  be  a  follower  of  Christ.  "Follow  Me,"  is 
the  Lord's  bidding  to  the  first  disciples,  and  when  later  on,  the 
multitude  began  to  flock  around  Him,  He  puts  the  same  exaction  on 
them  all.  "If  any  man  will  serve  Me  let  him  follow  Me:  and  where 
I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servants  be."  We  are  asked  to  follow  Christ, 
because  He  is  the  realized  ideal  of  human  goodness.  He  is  the  one 
perfect  exemplification  of  what  God  intended  us  to  be,  and  of  what, 
through  the  helping  of  His  grace,  we  may  all  become.  In  following 
Him  we  cannot  possibly  go  astray,  for  He  has  left  us  an  example  that 
is  absolutely  faultless — has  lived  a  pattern  life  without  the  suspicion  of 
a  stain  or  flaw.  Having  this  spotless  example  proposed  for  our  imi- 
tation, the  question  arises  why  we  should  be  bidden  in  the  text  and 
elsewhere  in  the  Scripture  to  take  frail  human  beings  as  our  exemp- 
lars, to  "be  followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit 
the  promises."  The  answer  is  that  we  are  required  to  follow  them  only 
as  they  were  followers  of  Christ,  that  the  recollection  of  their  Christ- 
like lives  helps  us  to  follow  Him  more  closely;  and  in  times  of 
discouragement,  to  press  on  to  the  goal  which  seems  so  very  far  away. 
The  perfection  of  Jesus  Christ  often  seems  at  an  infinite  remove  from 
our  low  standing  ground.  Compassed  as  we  are  with  infirmity  and 
weakness,  his  splendid  holiness  appears  an  unattainable  and  un- 
attemptible  thing.  But  the  example  of  the  Christ-like  follower  en- 
courages us  to  try  to  scale  the  height.  It  stimulates  and  inspires  us  by 
showing  us  what  men  of  like  passions  with  ourselves  can  do.  It  trans- 
lates the  divine  perfection  into  a  more  human  language,  and  moderates 
the  splendor  of  the  divine  ideal  by  clothing  it  in  the  subdued  light  of 
human  sympathy  and  hope.  Often  we  best  follow  Christ  by  studying 
Him  as  He  is  shown  to  us  through  the  medium  of  a  human  character 
and  life.  The  stars  may  guide  us  when  we  cannot  see  the  sun ;  and  the 
starlight  is  but  reflected  sunlight,  shorn  of  its  consuming  brilliance, 
and  tempered  to  the  uses  of  the  night.  There  is  many  a  shadowed 
hour  in  life  when  we  are  grateful  for  the  Scripture  word  which  bids  us 
to  "be  followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the 
promises." 


132 

Good  and  noble  human  lives  are  heaven's  best  benediction  to  us. 
They  infect  us  with  the  contagion  of  their  goodness.  They  create,  as 
Froude  says  "an  epidemic  of  nobleness."  They  spread  their  influence 
on  all  within  their  reach.  It  is  not  only  the  great  and  wise  who  may  do 
this,  but  also  the  humble  and  meek  whose  lives  are  uneventful,  and  who 
are  themselves  alike  "to  fortune  and  to  fame  unknown."  Even  children 
may  do  it  is  well  as  the  aged  follower  of  the  Lord.  Often  the  Christ 
in  the  little  child  may  teach  us  more,  and  guide  us  better,  than  the  Christ 
in  the  full  grown  man ;  and  when  death  comes,  and  we  bury  the  little 
one  from  our  sight,  what  new  tenderness  and  urgency  is  their  in  the 
demand  that  we  become  as  little  children,  and  be  followers  of  their 
simple  faith,  and  dutiful  obedience !  But  it  is  of  course  the  older  fol- 
lower of  Christ  that  the  Apostle  has  here  especially  in  mind,  and  you 
will  indulge  me,  if  in  the  spirit  of  his  injunction,  I  speak  to  you  this 
morning  of  one  whom  God  has  just  removed  from  us,  and  set  in  our 
midst  as  an  example  for  our  loving  imitation. 

On  Sunday  last  the  sad  announcement  was  made  that  the  be- 
loved wife  of  our  Junior  Warden  has  suddenly  fallen  asleep  in  a  distant 
place  of  sojourn  where  she  was  seeking  a  little  merciful  relief  from 
the  work  and  care  of  her  busy  life.  On  Wednesday  of  this  week,  she 
was  borne  in  solemn  service  to  her  last  resting  place,  in  the  city  of  the 
dead.  To  many  of  us  it  was  perhaps  a  disappointment  that  the  last  sad 
rites  were  not  conducted  in  this  church  and  that  she  was  not  buried  in 
the  neighboring  churchyard  where  so  many  of  her  family  repose.  But 
is  was  from  no  lack  of  interest  in  Princeton  that  another  place  was 
selected  for  her  sepulture.  No  spot  in  all  the  world  was  more  dear 
to  her  than  this  her  early  home.  While  living  and  moving  amid  other 
scenes  her  heart  was  chiefly  here.  But  there  was  good  and  sufficient 
reasons  why  she  should  have  been  laid  to  rest  in  other  hallowed 
ground,  and  why  there  should  be  left  to  us  the  memory  of  her  life 
rather  than  the  charge  of  her  precious  dust.  As  but  few  of  us  were  able 
to  be  present  at  the  service  in  which  she  was  committed  to  the  tomb, 
and  thus  express  our  sympathy'  and  sense  of  common  loss,  we  shall 
deem  it  all  the  more  fitting  perhaps  that  a  few  simple  memorial  words 
be  spoken  in  this  place  to-day.  And  yet,  my  dear  friends,  you  will  not 
wish  me  to  adopt  a  strain  of  panegyric,  or  to  become  the  eulogist  of  the 
deceased.  Nothing  could  be  further  from  her  wish  than  this  should  be 
made  the  occasion  for  laudations  of  her  character  and  work.  Could 
she  speak  to  us  from  the  silence  into  which  she  is  withdrawn,  she 
would  rebuke  us,  rather  than  commend  us  for  such  a  wounding  of  her 
humility,  such  an  anticipation  of  the  time  when  "the  counsels  of  the 
hearts  shall  be  made  manifest,  and  every  man  shall  have  praise  of  God." 
But  still  if  we  are  able  to  be  followers  of  the  sainted  dead,  then  it  must 


133 

be  right  to  dwell  in  chastened  recollection  on  their  virtues,  and  try  to 
learn  what  it  is  in  them  that  we  ought  to  follow. 

The  text  holds  up  two  things  for  our  imitation,  and  they  are  the 
graces  which  I  think  were  peculiarly  exemplified  in  the  life  and  charac- 
ter of  the  departed. 

i.  And  first  she  had  a  simple,  strong,  courageous  Christian  faith. 
In  an  age  when  faith  is  esteemed  a  weakness,  and  the  Christian  verities 
are  viewed  as  the  obsolete  tenets  of  a  worn  out  creed,  she  preserved  a 
calm  confidence  in  God,  and  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  God  manifest  in 
human  form  for  our  salvation.  In  the  society  of  a  great  city  where  she 
would  often  meet  the  thoughtful  skeptic,  or  the  frivolous  doubter,  who 
affects  to  be  unsettled,  because  it  is  the  thing  to  do,  she  never  failed  to 
confess  her  faith,  or  to  assert  it  in  quiet  and  becoming  ways.  Said 
one  who  knew  her  thoroughly,  in  an  hour  when  faith  sat  mute,  sur- 
prised and  stunned  by  this  sudden  blow,  her  faith  was  always  strong. 
She  never  wavered.  She  always  had  a  child-like  and  unquestioning 
trust  in  God.  This  is  one  of  the  things  which  we  ought  to  mark  and 
follozv.  Notice  some  of  the  ways  in  which  her  faith  was  evidenced 
in  her  life  and  conversation.     What  did  her  faith  do  for  her? 

(i)  You  will  agree  with  me,  I  am  sure,  when  I  say  that  one  thing 
it  did  was  to  enable  her  to  overcome  the  world.  "This  is  the  victory 
that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith,"  saith  the  Apostle,  and  that 
victory  she  was  able,  through  the  helping  of  Divine  grace,  signally  to 
achieve.  From  the  requirements  of  her  station  and  position,  she  was 
necessarily  much  in  the  world,  but  she  was  not  of  it.  By  common  con- 
sent she  was  esteemed  an  unworldly  woman.  Into  all  worldly  occupa- 
tion and  association  she  carried  an  unworldly  spirit.  She  was  an  ac- 
knowledged leader  of  the  fashionable  world,  but  she  cared  nothing  for 
its  pomp  and  show  and  glittering  parade.  Her  eye  was  fixed,  her  heart 
was  set  on  nobler  things.  As  she  moved  in  the  drawing  room,  the  as- 
sembly, or  the  banquet  hall,  the  sweet  savor  of  Christ  was  shed  abroad, 
like  the  perfume  of  an  incensed  garment  exhaling  itself  on  the  common 
air.  Thus  the  effect  of  her  association  with  the  world  was  to  elevate 
and  purify  it  rather  than  to  be  lowered,  herself,  by  its  downward 
trend.  It  is  impossible  to  say  that  the  society  of  Philadelphia  is 
not  better,  nobler,  sweeter  in  its  tone  because  for  seven  and  twenty 
years  she  lived  in  it,  and  carried  into  its  most  influential  circles 
the  spirit  of  the  Lord.  This  is  strikingly  confirmed  by  an  eminent  Phila- 
delphian,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  in  an  article  after- 
wards published  in  the  Friends  Intelligencer  and  Journal.  Says  the 
writer :  "The  language  of  eulogy  is  apt  to  be  overstrained,  and  personal 
feeling,  especially  in  the  first  days  of  sorrow,  is  apt  to  magnify  its 
object.  But  the  life  and  labors  of  this  woman  are  known  to  a  wide 
circle,  her  potent  wide  spread  influence  can  be  testified  to  by  the  whole 


134 

community  to  which  she  belonged.  And  it  is  the  opinion  of  those 
who  knew  her  best,  and  were  best  qualified  to  judge,  and  of  many 
accustomed  to  measure  their  utterances,  that  in  the  death  of  Alice 
Lippincott,  a  most  uncommon  character  had  passed  from  earth.  Strong 
characters  are  not  uncommon ;  gentle  lovely  characters  are  also  often 
found;  personal  charms  also  measurably  abound;  but  a  complete  union 
of  all,  each  in  fullest  measure,  is  almost  never  found,  and  when  the 
added  power  which  wealth  and  social  position  give  are  joined  thereto, 
the  combination  is  indeed  a  rare  one.  Such  a  union  of  spiritual  gifts 
and  mental  forces  appeared  in  our  departed  friend,  and  produced  in  her, 
as  those  who  know  her  best,  believe,  the  highest  type  of  womanhood 
that  this  generation  has  seen  in  our  midst."  Elsewhere  the  writer 
speaks  of  her  unrivalled  influence  and  popularity  and  traces  it  to  the 
Christian  character  which  lay  behind  the  grace  and  charm  which  were 
apparent  to  the  world.  Such  a  testimony  from  one  trained  to  careful 
speech,  strikingly  attests  the  general  estimate  which  was  formed  of  her 
in  the  city  which  she  dwealt.  This  is  the  victory  of  faith.  Consider  it ; 
and  whatever  may  be  your  own  peculiar  world,  endeavor  to  gain  in  it 
and  gain  over  it  the  same  great  triumph,  won  by  all  the  faithful  fol- 
lowers of  the  Lord.  "Whose  faith  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their 
conversation,  Jesus  Christ." 

(2)  Another  thing  that  faith  did  for  the  subject  of  these  remarks, 
was  to  make  her  fruitful  in  every  good  work  by  which  she  could 
benefit  and  bless  her  human  kind.  Her  faith  was  not  a  mere  passive, 
indolent  assent  to  certain  things  as  true  but  it  was  an  energetic  principle 
of  action.  It  made  her  give  time  and  strength,  without  stint,  to  every 
benevolent,  and  philanthropic  scheme  which  she  had  the  power  to  aid. 
The  public  prints  have  told  us  how  many  were  the  organizations  and 
societies  with  which  she  was  connected,  and  those  who  knew  her  well, 
are  aware  how  faithfully  and  zealously  she  gave  attention  to  them  all. 
She  would  often  rob  herself  of  rest  and  devote  the  small  hours  of  the 
night  to  the  preparation  of  a  report  or  arrangement  of  a  plan  for  some 
home,  asylum,  or  institute  for  whose  affairs  she  felt  responsibility; 
and  it  is  said  that  overfatigue,  in  the  administration  of  charitable  and 
other  matters  laid  her  open  to  the  attack  of  the  sickness  from  which  she 
died.  Her  public  benefactions  were  surpassed  by  her  private  benev- 
olence. It  was  ever  her  delight  to  encourage  the  struggling,  and  to  aid 
the  poor.  No  one  will  ever  know  how  many  people  leaned  upon  her 
for  support.  Her  giving  was  marked  by  great  simplicity,  and  she  did 
not  wait  until  her  help  was  importuned.  She  generally  volunteered 
it,  and  insisted  that  it  should  rest  as  a  confidence  between  herself  and 
the  recipients  of  her  aid.  One  of  her  last  acts  before  committing  her 
soul  to  God.  was  to  ask  her  husband  to  send  a  check  to  a  poor 
woman,  who  she  feared  might  be  needing  help.     I  have  been  surprised 


135 

since  her  death,  by  the  number  of  people  who  have  admitted  to  me  that 
they  have  been  aided  by  her  in  secret  unsuspected  ways,  and  these  are 
but  a  few  of  the  vast  aggregate  of  hidden  charities  which  will  never 
come  abroad  on  earth.  Verily  we  may  say  of  her  in  the  words  of  Job, 
"She  was  eyes  to  the  blind  and  feet  was  she  to  the  lame.  She  delivered 
the  poor  that  cried  and  the  fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to  help 
him.  The  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon  her,  and 
she  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy."  The  spring  of  such 
beneficence  was  faith.  Hers  was  a  faith  that  worketh  by  love,  and 
such  loving  work,  every  Christian  according"  to  his  measure  and  ability 
is  privileged  to  perform.  Vain  is  the  faith  that  is  without  such  fruit  for 
"as  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead 
also."  (3)  We  go  on  to  remark  that  her  faith  was  shown  to  be 
essentially  Christian  in  its  character,  in  that  it  incited  her  to  labor 
and  give  most  of  all  to  the  church  of  Christ.  Though  deeply  interested 
in  various  humanitarian  and  educational  societies,  she  was  most  de- 
voted to  the  church,  and  on  that  her  ample  means  was  most  unsparingly 
bestowed.  She  believed  that  what  her  Lord  loved  best  was  deserving 
of  the  first  place  in  the  follower's  heart.  She  knew  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  did  not  come  down  from  heaven,  and  take  our  nature  upon  Him 
and  die  upon  the  cross  for  any  institute,  asylum  or  academy  whatever, 
but  that  "He  loved  the  church  and  gave  Himself  for  it  that  He  might 
sanctify  it,  and  cleanse  it  with  washing  of  water  by  the  word" ;  and 
so  the  church  had  also  the  best  affections  of  this  handmaid  of  the 
Lord.  I  need  not  say  to  you  that  to  this  Parish,  in  which  her  early 
religious  life  was  formed,  her  love  and  care  especially  were  given.  We 
all  know  how  through  a  long  course  of  years  it  has  been  the  recipient 
of  her  bountiful  and  beautiful  beneficience,  how  she  marked  the  be- 
ginning of  her  wedded  life  by  a  munificent  subscription  for  a  new 
church  building,  how  afterwards  she  built  its  massive  tower,  and  how 
she  was  recently  engaged  in  the  erection  of  the  Parish  House  whose 
finished  proportions  she  was  not  allowed  to  see.  Her  work  and  labor 
of  love  let  us  try  and  emulate.  Whatever  else  we  may  admit  within 
our  hearts,  let  us  reserve  the  best  place  for  the  church  which  our  Sav- 
iour loved  so  well.  To  carry  on  the  work  of  our  church  in  this  place 
may  require  greater  sacrifice  from  pastor  and  people  than  has  been 
demanded  in  the  past ;  that  let  us  be  glad  for  Jesus'  sake  to  make. 

"I  love  thy  Kingdom,  Lord, 
The  house  of  Thine  abode. 
The  church  our  blest  Redeemer  saved 
With  His  most  orecious  Blood. 
For  her  my  tears  shall  fall ; 
For  her  my  prayers  ascend ; 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given 
Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end." 


136 

II.     Time  would  fail  me  to  speak  of  the  other  grace  proposed  for 
our  imitation  in  the  text,  and  which  was  set  like  a  precious  gem  amid 
the  other  jewels  which  adorned  the  character  of  the  deceased.     Faith 
and   Patience.     She   had   learned    "lowliness    from   the    Lord's    cradle, 
patience  from  His  cross."     Her  cup  of  life  was  filled  with  happiness 
indeed,    but   there    is   no   cup    in   which    the    myrrh    is    not    sometimes 
mingled  with  the  wine,  and  she  drank  also  from  the  cup  of  patience 
which,  as  an  old  writer  says  is  "set  with  diamonds  from  the  mines  of 
Eden,  carved  by  angelic  hands,  and  filled  at  the  eternal  fount  of  good- 
ness."    In  all  the  suffering  and  discipline  of  life  "she  possessed  her 
soul    in    patience."     She    was    "patient    in    tribulation."     She    patiently 
"continued  in  well-doing,"  and  now  after  she  had  patiently  endured,  she 
has  attained  the  promises,  and  won  the  reward  of  those  who  share 
"the  Kingdom  and  patience  of  the  Lord."     My  dear  people,  let  us  be 
followers  of  the  faith  and  patience,  through  which  she  has  inherited  the 
promises.     Let  us  use  her  example  simply  to  bring  us  nearer  to  the 
Lord,  and  inspire  us  to  a  more  patient  following  of  His  steps.     Such 
a  life  puts  a  responsibility  upon  us,  and  we  ought  to  be  better,  purer, 
more  unselfish  because  of  our  association  with  it.     Deeply  will  she  be 
missed  by  the  congregation  of  this  Parish,  let  her  example  be  a  bene- 
diction to  us  still.     I  speak  not  of  the  loss  which  her  departure  brings 
to  our  Parish  work.     I  speak  only  of  the  loss  of  herself.     That  we  shall 
never    again    behold    on    earth    her    cheering    and    inspiring    presence, 
that   she  will  never  again  join   us   in   keeping  holy   festival   and   fast 
in  these  earthly  courts,  that  life  should  be  impoverished  for  us  by  the 
removal  of  so  much  that  beautified  and  enriched  it,  that  there  should  be 
taken   from   earth's   treasures    so   much   truth,   affection,   sincerity   and 
Christ-like  simplicity  united  to  womanly  strength  and  force,  it  is  this 
that  most  affects  us,  this  that  turns  this  congregation  and  almost  this 
congregation    and   almost   this   whole   community   into    a   company    of 
mourners.     Why   so   useful   a  life  should  have  been   cut  short  we   do 
not  know.     God  must  have  had  some  higher  field  of  service   for  her 
in    another   world.      We   bow    in    submission    to    His    Holy   Will,    and 
ask  Him  to  teach  us  the  lessons  He  would  have  us  learn.     We  know 
that  the  departed  one  is  not  lost  to   us.     She  has  only  gone  before 
us  and  is  for  a  little  time  removed  from  mortal  sight.     Her  example, 
for  instance,  her  affection,  the  memory  of  her  beautiful  life  will  still 
be  left  to  us,  and  will  be  an  imperishable  possession  of  the  heart.     She 
will  still  be  one  with  us  in  the  communion  of  the  saints,  and  there 
are  spiritual  perceptions  that  will  yet  feel  "the  touch  of  the  vanished 
hand,    and    hear    the    sound    of    the    voice    that    is    still."      God    grant 
that  through  faith  and  patience  we  may  become  meet  to  join  her,  and 
the  whole  company  of  the  departed,  who  from  the  eternal  shore  look 
back   upon   their   toils,   and  behold   us   singing   their   songs   of   earthly 


137 

faith  and  hope,  while  they  have  learned  the  melodies  of  triumph  and 
of  everlasting  joy. 

Jesus,  Lord  of  Glory, 

As  we  breast  the  tide, 
Whisper  thou  the  story 

Of  the  other  side  ; 
Where  the  saints  are  casting 

Crowns  before  Thy  feet, 
Safe  for  everlasting, 

In  Thyself  complete. 

The  Rev.  William  A.  Dod 

by 

Asa  S.  Colton 

In  offering  a  slight  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  A.  Dod, 
who  died  last  Wednesday  night,  I  do  not  propose  a  biographical  sketch ; 
but  simply  to  indicate  my  own  sense  of  special  excellence  in  his  life  and 
character. 

I  would  say,  to  begin  with,  I  have  never  known  a  man  in  whom  the 
fear  of  God,  showing  itself  in  a  scrupulous  regard  for  everything  per- 
taining to  his  Honor  and  service,  appeared  more  constant  and  influen- 
tial. I  can  hardly  conceive  of  a  more  absolute  submission  of  the 
whole  soul,  and  the  whole  life,  to  the  requirements,  or  even  supposed 
will  of  God,  than  was  evident  in  his  conversation  and  practice.  The 
simple  apprehension  that  anything  was  in  accordance  with  the  divine 
economy  in  the  world,  or  in  the  Church,  was  as  decisive  as  a  voice  from 
Heaven  could  make  it.  The  same  may  be  said  of  his  regard  to  Christ 
our  Lord.  This  was  such  that  he  seemed  to  prefer  the  form  of  petition 
addressing  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  any  other.  Not  that  he  was  con- 
scious of  departing  at  all  from  the  common  Trinitarian  theory ;  but  his 
sense  of  our  relation  to  God  in  Christ  was  so  vivid  as  to  fill  the  soul 
and  hardly  leave  room  for  other  thoughts  of  our  relations  to  the 
Divine  Being. 

In  harmony  with  this  was  one  signal  excellence  of  his  preaching. 
He  directed  us  to  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour,  with  a  degree  of  pre- 
cision not  commonly  witnessed.  The  idea  of  coming  to  him,  just  as  we 
are,  and  for  the  entire  salvation  that  he  came  to  give,  was  presented 
in  such  simplicity,  that  a  child  could  hardly  fail  to  carry  off  the  exact 
idea.  He  did  not  teach  us  first  to  master  a  system  of  doctrine,  or  at- 
tain to  especially  gracious  disposition ;  but  to  sit  as  Mary  did  at 
Jesus'  feet,  there  to  be  taught,  and  there  to  find  renewal  of  heart,  and 
grace  for  the  practice  of  life. 

As  a  single  instance  of  his  method  of  teaching,  he  would  say,  "It 
is  good  to  touch  the  hem  of  His  garment,  but  better  still  to  lean  upon 
his  breast." 


138 

Perfect  simplicity  in  all  discourses,  whether  in  the  cirle  of  his 
friends  or  in  the  pulpit,  was  always  a  noticeable  characteristic.  There 
was  no  effort  in  words  or  manner,  but  in  the  plainest  way  to  express 
exactly  the  thought  and  feeling  intended;  so  that  if  "an  honest  man  is 
the  noblest  work  of  God,"  and  as  honesty  reveals  itself  in  this  way,  the 
highest  praise  is  due  to  this  departed  brother. 

His  sermons,  thought  not  always  quite  evidently  regular  in  method, 
were  yet  uniformly  suggestive  and  instructive.  Many  passages  were 
plain  in  style,  as  anything  among  the  English  sermonizers ;  but  with 
frequently  recurring  passages  of  great  power  and  poetic  beauty.  There 
was  often  a  solemnity  and  sweetness  of  tone  and  words,  which  it  does 
one  good  to  recall,  as  we  do  special  moments  of  feeling  the  purest 
heavenly  influences. 

In  the  social  circle,  with  students  about  him,  he  had  the  advantage 
of  varied  acquirements  and  continued  sympathy  with  the  peculiarities 
of  college  life — of  this  I  am  just  now  reminded  by  one  who  knew  and 
loved  him  well. 

His  kindly  regards  for  the  poor  and  disposition  to  take  them  by  the 
hand,  as  the  children  of  God,  wherever  they  seemed  to  be  such,  was  also 
noteworthy.  Could  I  set  down  such  testimony  of  his  pastoral  character 
in  this  form,  as  I  could  easily  gather,  it  would  be  a  record  of  the  highest 
praise. 

From  a  Sermon  on 

Admiral  George  F.  Emmons,  U.  S.  N., 

by 

A.  B.  Baker,  D.D. 

Permit  me  here  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  his  professional  career. 
Born  in  Vergennes,  Vermont,  in  the  year  1812,  his  boyhood  was  spent 
in  the  calm  seclusion  of  a  happy  home,  amid  the  green  fields  and 
glorious  scenery  for  which  his  native  State  is  noted. 

On  reaching  his  seventeenth  year,  he  was  appointed  Midshipman 
from  Vermont,  and  immediately  entered  the  naval  school,  Brooklyn, 
where  he  served  for  the  first  few  months  of  his  cadetship.  He  was 
then  assigned  to  the  steam  frigate  Fulton,  with  which  he  remained  till 
June  4,  1829.  He  was  next  appointed  to  the  Brandywine,  which  was  sent 
on  special  service  to  the  West  Indies  in  1830,  and  to  the  Mediterranean 
in  the  same  year.  He  was  promoted  Passed  Midshipman  July  14,  1834, 
and  served  on  the  brig  Consort,  on  the  coast,  for  about  two  years.  In 
1837,  he  went  with  the  bark  Pioneer  to  the  West  Indies,  and  took 
part  in  the  closing  acts  by  which  Texas  was  rid  of  Santa  Anna  and 
Mexican  domination  and  became  the  Lone  Star  Republic,  with  its  in- 


139 

dependence  recognized  by  the  United  States  and  several  States  of 
Europe.  Subsequently  he  was  made  Master  and  assigned  to  the  frigate 
Macedonian  on  coast  service.  Until  1841  he  served  afloat  and  ashore 
with  the  exploring  expedition  among  the  Pacific  Islands  and  on  our 
western  coast,  and  contributed  memorably  to  their  efficiency  and  suc- 
cess. He  was  on  the  sloop-of-war  Peacock  when  she  was  wrecked  on 
a  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  but  his  life  was  mercifully 
preserved.  After  receiving  his  commission  as  Lieutenant  in  1841,  he 
was  frequently  given  command  of  vessels  sent  out  on  surveying  expedit- 
ions, and  soon  was  put  in  charge  of  a  scientific  corps  to  explore  the 
country  south  of  the  Columbia  River  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Sacra- 
mento, and  thence  to  California  to  San  Francisco,  where  the  party  ar- 
rived after  several  skirmishes  with  hostile  Indians. 

During  the  following  six  or  eight  years  he  saw  continual  active 
service  in  the  Brazilian  squadron  and  in  various  exploring  expeditions. 
In  1856  he  commanded  the  flagship  of  the  Brazilian  squadron.  He  was 
commissioned  a  Commander,  January  28,  1856.  When  the  war  broke 
out,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Lighthouse  Board,  but  was  at  once  sent  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  for  blockade  duty. 

He  afterward  commanded  several  steamers  on  the  Mississippi  River, 
and  while  serving  there  he  took  a  score  of  prizes,  most  of  which  sailed 
under  the  British  flag,  and  also  captured  Cedar  Keys  and  Pass  Chris- 
tian. He  was  promoted  to  a  Captaincy,  February  7,  1863,  and  was  fleet 
captain  under  Admiral  Dahlgren  at  the  reduction  of  Fort  Sumter.  Sub- 
sequently he  commanded  a  large  division  of  blockade  vessels  in  the 
Gulf.  While  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans,  he  assisted  in  capturing  a 
formidable  ram,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  thwarted  the  attempts  of 
the  Confederates  to  burn  the  shipping  and  city  by  means  of  fire  rafts. 
He  remained  with  the  Gulf  squadron  till  the  close  of  the  war,  and  after 
the  battle  smoke  had  cleared  away  he  had  the  pleasing  task  of  com- 
manding the  Ossipee  on  her  peaceful  mission  to  Alaska ;  and  at  Sitka, 
on  October  9,  1867,  he  hoisted  the  American  flag  over  that  newly 
acquired  territory.  After  receiving  his  commission  as  Commodore,  on 
September  20,  1868,  he  was  appointed  Senior  Member  of  the  Ordnance 
Board  at  Washington,  and  subsequently  placed  in  charge  of  the  Hydro- 
graphic  Office.  From  1870  to  1872  he  commanded  the  Naval  Station  at 
Philadelphia.  He  was  commissioned  Rear  Admiral  November  5,  1872, 
and  was  placed  upon  the  retired  list,  by  the  limitation  of  the  statute, 
in  1873.  Thus  his  term  of  active  service  extended  through  nearly  half 
the  period  of  our  national  existence ;  and  brethren,  we,  who  calmly 
listened  to  the  unimpassioned  outline  of  his  professional  career,  can  have 
no  idea  of  the  hardship,  the  danger,  the  self-sacrifice,  which  properly 
belongs  to  its  filling  up.  Admiral  Emmons  went  through  it  all  with  a 
brave  and  intrepid  heart.     He  carried  a  spirit  of  self-devotion  into  his 


140 

life-work,  and  there  never  was  a  moment  when  he  would  not  have  laid 
down  his  life  for  the  honor  of  the  flag  under  which  he  sailed.  But  it 
gives  a  higher  lustre  to  his  name  to  remember  that  his  spirit  of  devotion 
was  baptized  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The  life  which  he  devoted 
to  his  country  he  also  consecrated  to  his  God,  and  his  knightly  feeling 
for  the  government  of  his  land  was  converted  by  the  Hand  that  makes 
all  things  new,  into  a  chivalry  to  the  Cross.  He  was  not  one  of  those 
whose  heart  could  beat  for  his  country's  cause,  and  yet  be  dead  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  true  Fatherland ;  who  could  strike  for  the  free  Con- 
stitution of  his  birth,  and  yet  would  not  champion  the  cause  of  "that 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free."  His  lower  service  but 
prepared  him  for  the  higher,  and  the  life  which  was  given  to  the 
earthly  country  he  admired,  was  yielded,  also,  to  the  Heavenly  Ruler 
he  adored.  For  this,  my  friends,  his  name  will  endure  when  all  the 
records  of  his  earthly  service  are  forgotten,  and  the  nation  for  which 
he  fought  shall  itself  have  passed  away. 

Another  element  in  the  military  character,  which  may  easily  be 
transmuted  into  something  nobler,  is  its  sense  of  justice,  and  its  love 
of  right.  The  end  of  warfare  is  usually  the  vindication  of  a  right,  as 
the  end  of  a  debate  is  the  establishment  of  a  truth ;  and  when  a  nation 
makes  appeal  to  arms,  it  is  usually  on  the  ground  that  there  is  no  other 
tribunal  to  which  its  cause  may  be  carried,  and  the  ends  of  justice  be 
secured.  The  officer  who  bears  its  sword  is  but  the  embodiment  of  its 
sense  of  justice,  and  none  possessed  this  sense  in  a  fuller  measure  than 
the  illustrious  one  we  honor.  His  love  of  equity  was  strong  and  con- 
trolling, and  he  ever  meted  out  the  justice  he  demanded  as  his  due. 
Fittingly  might  his  epitaph  be  written,  a  just  man  made  perfect.  If 
justice  be  the  foundation  attribute  to  God,  then  it  must  afford  a  solid 
basis  for  the  Christian  character  of  man ;  and  when  properly  tempered 
by  the  attribute  of  mercy,  it  makes  us  most  resemble  Him,  in  whom 
"Mercy  and  truth  are  met  together,  and  righteousness  and  peace  have 
kissed  each  other." 

None  could  know  our  departed  friend  without  feeling  that  he  could 
be  merciful  as  well  as  just,  and  that  he  was  every  ready  to  put  a  chari- 
table construction  upon  the  motives  of  an  offender.  The  war  he  made 
was  against  principles  rather  than  against  men,  and  if  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  evil  principles  he  was  at  enmity  with  them,  as  individuals, 
he  was  at  peace.  It  is  most  edifying  to  remember  how  he  combined 
the  spirit  of  the  peacemaker  with  the  zealous  affection  for  a  righteous 
cause.  Often  it  was  his  study  how  to  heal  a  difference,  or  restore  the 
broken  amity  of  friends.  This  is  for  our  imitation.  Unless  we  have 
something  of  the  same  spirit,  in  vain  shall  we  try  to  hold  converse  with 
the  company  of  heaven. 


141 

"How  pure  in  heart  and  sound  in  head, 
With  what  divine  affections  bold 
Should  be  the  man  whose  thoughts  would  hold 
An  hour's  communion  with  the  dead ! 

In  vain  shalt  thou  or  any  call 

The  spirit  from  their  golden  day, 
Except  like  them  thou  canst  say, 

My  spirit  is  at  peace  with  all." 

Another  trait  that  easily  lends  itself  to  the  uses  of  religion,  is 
courage;  and  this,  touched  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  becomes  that  noble 
moral  quality,  which  enables  its  possessor,  in  spite  of  ridicule  or  oppo- 
sition always  dare  to  do  right.  Our  illustrious  friend  had  it  in  a  high 
degree.  Never  was  he  afraid  to  avow  his  principles ;  never  was  he 
ashamed  to  confess  himself  a  Christian,  even  in  the  society  of  the  un- 
believing or  profane.  It  was  his  custom  to  read  prayers  on  shipboard, 
when  the  services  of  a  chaplain  could  not  be  had ;  and  his  well-worn 
prayer  book,  marked  at  favorite  places  and  at  prayers  most  suitable 
for  his  use,  is  a  treasured  memorial  of  his  fidelity  in  the  conduct  of 
devotion  when  at  sea. 

Another  thing  still  that  predisposes  toward  the  Christian  life  is  the 
self-subjection  of  the  military  man.  In  the  strict  regimen  of  military 
life,  one  learns  to  rule  himself  and  to  yield  to  the  rule  of  others,  and  in 
this  way  the  trained  officer  acquires  the  ability  to  command.  Is  it  not 
-the  first  requirement  of  religion  that  one  should  frame  himself  to  sub- 
jection and  to  acquiesence  in  the  orderings  of  the  Will  Supreme?  This 
our  departed  friend  had  learned  cheerfully  to  do.  Like  the  centurion 
under  authority,  in  the  Gospels,  he  saw  everywhere  the  rule  of  law,  and 
the  obedience  he  exacted  from  those  beneath  him  he  ever  rendered  to  the 
Will  which  ruleth  over  all.  This  Will  for  him  was  that  of  an  all-wise 
and  all-loving  God,  and  he  could  not  think  of  rebelling  against  it,  even 
when  its  dictates  seemed  inscrutable  or  severe.  When  the  stern  man- 
date came,  "Set  thine  house  in  order,  thou  shalt  die  and  not  live,"  he 
submitted  without  a  murmur  or  a  sigh. 

Well  do  I  remember  that  when,  on  the  occasion  of  a  pastoral  visit, 
two  weeks  before  the  end,  I  spoke  of  the  possibility  that  his  sickness 
might  be  fatal  and  of  the  blessedness  of  submission  to  the  Father's 
Will,  he  replied:  My  life  has  been  a  happy  one,  and  I  have  always 
taken  great  enjoyment  in  the  beautiful  world  which  God  has  fitted  up 
for  the  home  of  the  man ;  if  He  permit,  I  would  like  "to  recover  my 
strength  before  I  go  hence  and  am  no  more  seen."  But  folding  his 
hands  upon  his  breast,  he  looked  up  and  added :  "Not  my  will,  but 
thine  O  God,  be  done."  The  rest  of  his  days  were  days  of  patient 
waiting  and  looking,  that  he  might  "understand  what  the  Will  of  the 
Lord"  was. 


142 

Another  characteristic  often  developed  by  a  military  life  is  fidelity 
to  duty.  This  is  involved  in  what  had  already  been  said,  but  it  deserves 
to  be  brought  out  with  greater  distinctness.  When  penetrated  by  the 
religious  spirit,  such  fidelity  becomes  conscientious,  and  it  is  trans- 
figured by  the  end  at  which  the  Christian  ever  aims — the  Glory  of  his 
Maker. 

Certainly,  duty  was  the  inspiration  of  the  life  we  are  considering, 
and  duty  undertaken  "heartily  as  to  the  Lord  and  not  unto  men."  Not 
only  was  this  true  of  that  portion  of  the  life  which  moved  amid  stirring 
scene  and  great  event,  but  also  of  that  part  of  it  which  was  passed 
in  leisure  and  retirement.  He  carried  the  spirit  of  fidelity  into  every- 
thing he  undertook.  Soon  after  his  relinquishment  of  active  service, 
he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States,  and, 
some  four  years  before  his  death,  he  became  its  Senior  Vice-commander. 
How  faithfully  he  performed  the  duties  of  this  position,  learn  from  the 
minute  of  the  Companions  of  the  Legion,  which,  in  part,  I  now  quote : 
"In  the  discharge  of  his  duty  he  officiated  at  the  institution  of  this 
commandery.  In  the  performance  of  the  functions  of  his  office,  at  that 
time,  he  endeared  himself  to  us.  The  reverence  he  manifested  for  the 
distingushed  duty  he  undertook,  the  dignity  of  his  bearing,  the  modest 
merit  that  cast  a  halo  about  him,  and  the  geniality  of  his  companionship, 
will  be  held  by  us  in  highest  esteem  while  memory  lasts.  He  was  one 
of  those  noble  gentlemen  whose  refinement  by  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  civilization,  whose  culture  by  education  and  association  with 
many  eminent  people  met  while  travelling  around  the  world,  whose 
spotless  integrity,  whose  capacity  to  know  the  right,  with  the  courage 
to  maintain  it,  and  whose  quiet  but  reliable  faithfulness  to  duty,  have 
conspired  with  other  things  to  add  lustre  to  our  national  character. 
He  was  actively  engaged  in  the  service  of  his  country  forty-five  years, 
three  months,  and  twenty-three  days,  and  he  never  drew  a  breath  that 
was  not  perfectly  loyal  to  the  flag  that  is  representative  of  all  that  is 
best  in  modern'  civilization.  We  honor  the  man,  and  mourn  his  loss." 
Of  his  fidelity  in  other  spheres  we  ourselves  were  witnesses.  Early  in 
his  retirement  he  was  made  a  vestryman  of  this  Parish,  and  in  1879 
was  elected  its  Senior  Warden.  On  informing  him  of  his  election,  he 
said  that  he  esteemed  it  an  honor  to  hold  any  position  in  the  Church 
of  Christ,  and  he  hoped  that  wisdom  would  be  given  him  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  now  committed  to  him.  Surely,  he  will  be  remem- 
bered concerning  this,  and  God  will  not  "wipe  out  the  good  deeds  that 
he  has  done  for  the  house  of  his  God,  and  for  offices  thereof." 

Time  will  not  permit  us  to  dwell  upon  the  many  illustrations  of  this 
spirit  of  fidelity  in  other  spheres  of  duty.  He  was  faithful  as  a  parent, 
faithful  as  a  citizen,  faithful  as  a  friend,  and,  being  faithful  unto  death, 


M3 

must  there  not  be  said  to  him  on  the  day  of  final  reckoning,  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

To  commemorate  the  life  and  example  of  such  a  man,  there  has 
been  placed  upon  the  solid  piers  of  this  church  the  beautiful  tablet 
which  meets  our  gaze  to-day.  As  the  names  of  the  spiritual  Israel  are 
written  upon  the  great  walls  of  the  Heavenly  Temple,  so  on  the  walls 
of  the  earthly  there  has  been  inscribed  the  name  of  this  servant  of  the 
living  God.  Long  may  this  monument  endure,  and  may  it  speak  to 
generations  yet  unborn,  of  the  faith  and  fidelity  of  the  one  whose  name 
it  bears.  Time,  indeed,  must  touch  it  with  its  mouldering  hand.  But 
the  righteousness  of  a  good  man  remaineth  forever;  and  this  shall  be 
his  memorial  when  the  graven  brass  shall  have  been  corroded,  and  the 
monumental  marble  shall  have  crumbled  into  dust.  On  the  polished 
surface  of  this  metal  affection  has  inscribed  the  words,  "Blessed  are 
the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God."  Surely,  my  friends,  we 
have  been  thinking  of  one  to  whom  this  beatitude  most  fittingly  applies, 
for  we  count  him  pure,  not  only  because  of  the  habitual  pureness  of  his 
living,  but  because  he  had  been  purified;  because  he  had  "washed  his 
robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  Such  purity 
is  not  only  of  the  outward  dress,  but  of  the  inward  soul  of  the  Christian 
man,  and  it  clarifies  the  vision  of  the  soul  and  enables  him  to  see  "Him 
who  is  invisible."  It  is  as  the  eye  through  which  the  soul  beholds  Him, 
who  now  is  seen  "as  through  a  glass  and  darkly,"  but  by  and  by  shall 
be  seen  "face  to  face."  The  beatitude  is  fulfilled  for  the  departed  one, 
and  in  the  pure  light  of  the  heavenly  world  he  sees  God. 

And  now,  brethern,  let  us  try  to  heed  that  cry  of  the  Liturgy, 
"Sursum  Corda,"  and  lift  up  the  heart  and  mind  to  that  blessed  life, 
into  which  all  our  beloved  ones,  who  have  been  purified  in  the  Precious 
Blood,  have  now  entered.  There  the  soldier  has  laid  down  his  sword, 
the  pilgrim  his  staff,  and  the  tired  saint  his  garments  of  mortality  and 
sin.  There  the  lines  of  care,  which  once  furrowed  the  brow,  have  been 
smoothed  away;  the  tear,  which  once  dimmed  the  lustre  of  the  eye,  has 
been  dried  forever  by  the  Hand  of  God.  No  stain  is  on  the  robes  that 
glisten  in  the  eternal  sunlight,  no  fear  or  trouble  in  the  hearts  that  rest 
in  perfect  peace  upon  the  bosom  of  eternal  love.  "They  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more,  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them, 
nor  any  more  heat.  There  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor 
crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain." 


"Now  they  reign  in  heavenly  glory, 
Now  they  walk  in  golden  light, 
Now  they  drink  as  from  a  river 
Holy  bliss  and  infinite. 


144 

Love  and  Peace  they  taste  forever, 
And  all  trnth  and  knowledge  see 

In  the  beatific  vision 
Of  the  blessed  Trinity." 


Trinity  Church  Choir. 

The  records  of  the  early  musical  history  of  Trinity  Church  are 
meagre  in  the  extreme.  The  first  mention  of  an  organist  is  found 
in  the  Vestry  minutes  for  May  1842,  when  Mr.  George  Young  was 
appointed  in  place  of  Mr.  S.  Smith.  A  year  later  Mr.  Young  entered 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  his  brother  Alfred  was  appointed  in 
his  place  May  15,  1843.  Mr.  Alfred  Young  later  entered  college  and 
as  he  was  not  graduated  until  1848  he  must  have  been  a  very  youthful 
organist  at  the  time  of  his  appointment.  In  August  1845  he  was  taking 
organ  lessons  at  Philadelphia  and  the  Vestry  was  paying  his  tuition 
bills.  He  remained  organist  of  Trinity  at  least  six  years  and  resigned 
between  1849  and  1851.  Later  he  studied  medicine,  then  entered  the 
priesthood  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  became  Vice-President 
of  Seton  Hall.  His  successor  on  the  Trinity  organ-bench  was  Mrs. 
Genevieve  Smith  who  died  in  the  summer  of  1851.  Among  Mrs. 
Smith's  successors  were  Miss  M.  Clifton,  Mrs.  Carrie  Priest  (then 
Miss  Carrie  Ross),  and  Professor  Carl  Langlotz,  who  was  an  instructor 
in  the  college  and  who  is  well  known  to  Princetonians  as  the  composer 
of  "Old  Nassau."  In  December  1868  a  Mr.  Groser  was  appointed 
organist.     He  resigned  in  the  following  June. 

Until  1870  the  choir  consisted  either  of  a  volunteer  quartet  or  of  a 
mixed  chorus.  The  first  vested  boy  choir  was  organized  in  1870  with 
Dr.  Henry  S.  Cutler  as  trainer  and  Miss  Maria  F.  Stevens  as  organist. 
Miss  Stevens  resigned  in  May  1876,  and  for  several  years  thereafter 
the  college  was  drawn  on  for  this  important  post.  The  organists  for  the 
last  thirty-five  years  have  been  James  P.  Dod  (Princeton  '78)  ;  Charles 
I.  Young  '83;  Harris  C.  Meserole  '86;  Charles  I.  Young  '83;  (October 
1886   to   April    1887)  ;    Alfred    S.    Baker    '90    (April    18S7    to    October 

1889)  ;  John  M.  Mayhew  '92  (October  1889  to  April  1892)  ;  L.  F.  Pease 
'95  (1892  to  1893;  Walter  Cottrell  (1893  to  1895)  ;  Augustus  Dohm  '00 
1895;  R.  W.  Brace  '96  (1895  to  1896)  ;  Walter  Cottrell  (1896  to  1902)  : 
George  B.  Rodgers  (1902  to  date.) 

In  many  cases  the  organists  have  been  their  own  choirmasters  but 
the  following  gentlemen  have  served  in  the  latter  capacity  alone :  Rich- 
ard F.  Conover  '80;  Horace  S.  Emmons  (resigned  January  1883); 
Professor  Charles  McMillan  (1883  to  1889)  ;  John  S.  Conant  (1889  to 

1890)  ;  C.  A.  Bowlds  1895;  V.  L.  Collins  (during  the  winter  of  1895-96)  ; 
Augustus  Dohm  (1896  to  1902). 


M5 

At  various  times  between  1887  and  1902  there  was  a  retro  choir 
of  ladies  to  support  the  boys  and  for  solo  work  when  there  were  no  boy 
soloists.  Among  the  leading  boy  soloists  that  the  choir  has  pro- 
duced may  be  mentioned  Phillip  Bennett,  Jacob  Petz,  and  David  Lloyd ; 
and  we  add  the  present  soloists  James  Robinson,  Jr.,  MacKay  Sturges, 
and  Vernon  Farr.  In  length  of  service,  the  senior  members  of  the 
choir  at  present  are  Mr.  C.  A.  Bowlds  who  began  as  a  boy  in  1878,  Mr. 
Augustus  Dohm  who  also  began  as  a  soprano  in  1888  and  Mr.  V.  L. 
Collins  who  entered  the  choir  in  1889.  On  the  roll  of  boys  who  have 
sung  in  the  choir  as  compiled  by  Mr.  Bowlds  are  listed  over  200  names, 
while  there  are  96  names  on  the  list  of  men  singers.  Among  visiting 
choirmasters  who  have  in  years  past  assisted  in  training  Trinity  boys, 
have  been  such  famous  American  organists  and  church  composers  as 
Dr.  Cutler,  Mr.  Le  Jeune  and  Mr.  Stubbs.  The  present  organist  and 
choirmaster  Mr.  Rodgers  is  one  of  Mr.  Stubbs'  pupils. 

The  Trinity  choir  began  to  win  reputation  under  the  directorship 
of  Mr.  Charles  I.  Young,  the  talented  son  of  the  late  Professor 
Charles  A.  Young  of  Princeton  University.  An  occasion  of  special  in- 
terest during  his  incumbency  was  the  celebration  at  Trinity  of  the 
Second  Annual  Choir  Festival  of  New  Jersey,  in  November  1882.  In- 
spired by  Mr.  Young's  example,  Mr.  Alfred  S.  Baker  who  had  been 
Mr.  Young's  assistant,  set  about  the  work  when  he  succeeded  Mr. 
Young  with  an  enthusiasm  which  knew  no  bounds  and  with  results  that 
were  remarkable.     The  Churchman  for  December  24  1887,  says: 

"Stirring  accounts  reach  us  of  the  fine  choral  work  in  Trinity 
Church,  Princeton,  N.  J.,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Alfred  S.  Baker, 
organist  and  choirmaster ;  by  correspondence  and  clippings  from  the 
local  press.  Within  less  than  a  year  an  ordinary  parish  choir,  vested, 
has  under  this  intelligent  worker,  been  changed  into  an  exceptionally 
excellent  one.  The  beautiful  church  with  its  effective  organ  and  proper 
chancel  arangements  is  essentially  adapted  to  such  a  choir  and  service, 
and  among  the  choirmasters  who  have  served  the  parish  are  Dr.  Cutler, 
the  Messrs.  Le  Jeune,  Stubbs  and  Dod,  so  that  the  boys  are  thoroughly 
trained  in  the  head  tone  method  of  vocal  delivery.  The  music 
calendars  are  from  the  most  celebrated  modern  composers." 

In  November  1888  the  eighth  annual  Festival  of  the  choir  guild  of 
New  Jersey  was  held  at  Trinity  when  Mr.  Baker  presided  at  the  organ, 
and  evoked  numerous  flattering  press  notives.  A  study  of  Mr.  Baker's 
lists  shows  the  high  class  of  music  his  choirs  provided.  A  composer 
of  positive  genius  and  a  brilliant  organist  he  had  the  ability  to  fire  his 
boys  and  men  with  his  own  enthusiasm.  He  was  a  thorough  musician 
whose  taste  was  only  for  the  best  in  church  music,  and  his  service  lists 
maintained  a  high  standard  of  quality  seldom  found  outside  metro- 
politan circles.  On  his  resignation  the  Vestry  passed  the  following 
resolution  under  date  of  October  6,  1889 : 


146 

"Whereas  Mr.  Alfred  S.  Baker,  organist  and  choirmaster  of 
Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  N.  J.,  has  resigned  his  office  to  accept  a 
similar  one  in  Morristown,  N.  J. 

Resolved  that  the  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  this  Church  deeply 
regret  that  Mr.  Baker's  interests  should  call  him  away  to  another 
Parish,  and  do  also  desire  hereby  to  record  their  very  high  apprecia- 
tion of  the  able,  zealous  and  most  generous  manner  in  which  he  has 
served  this  Church  in  the  important  position  above  named." 

Mr.  Baker  did  not  allow  his  departure  from  Princeton  for  wider 
fields,  first  at  Morristown,  N.  J.,  and  then  at  St.  James'  Church,  New 
York  City,  to  separate  him  entirely  from  the  church  and  choir  of  his 
boyhood  and  early  professional  years.  He  visited  Princeton  regularly 
to  give  the  choir  the  benefit  of  his  assistance,  and  occasionally  gave 
organ  recitals  in  Trinity  bringing  with  him  soloists  from  his  own 
choir,  and  once  or  twice  even  bringing  his  whole  choir  to  give  some 
special  service.  At  his  death  in  1896  his  choir  was  disbanded,  but  in 
December  1897,  the  boys  and  men  forming  it  re-assembled  at  Trinity 
to  hold  a  memorial  service  in  memory  of  their  late  director.  Of  this 
service  the  Trinity  Record  had  the  following  comment  to  make  on  its 
issue  for  December  1897 : 

"It  was  a  delicate  tribute  of  the  personal  qualities  of  the  late  Alfred 
S.  Baker,  that  his  choir  of  St.  James  should  have  desired  the  memorial 
service  on  December  n,  and  asked  that  they  might  hold  it  in  Trinity 
Church.  Choral  evensong  was  sung,  Mr.  Baker's  Magnificat  and  Nunc 
Dimittis  in  E  flat  being  used  with  his  anthem  "O  God  who  hast 
prepared,"  and  the  tenor  aria  from  his  unfinished  oratorio  "The  Desire 
of  All  Nations."  The  recessional  was  the  favorite  "Jerusalem  My 
Happy  Home,"  another  of  Mr.  Baker's  compositions.  Bishop  Scar- 
borough and  the  Rev.  S.  R.  Nichols,  formerly  of  St.  James  made  brief 
addresses.  On  Mr.  Baker's  death  his  St.  James'  choir  disbanded  but 
their  splendid  training  was  very  evident  in  their  beautiful  rendition 
of  his  superb  music.  Messrs.  Novello  and  Ewer,  his  publishers, 
printed  the  order  of  service,  and  the  high  regard  in  which  they  held 
him  as  a  composer  was  shown  by  their  preface  to  the  list  of  his  works." 

The  Processional  Cross  now  used  in  Trinity  was  presented  in  1903 
by  the  Rev.  Wifliam  Osborn  Baker,  himself  an  old  Trinity  choirboy, 
in  memory  of  his  brother. 

For  several  years  after  Mr.  Baker  left  Princeton  and  in  spite  of  the 
assistance  he  rendered  by  visits,  the  choir  suffered  unavoidably  by  the 
inability  of  the  Parish  to  support  an  organist  and  choirmaster  who  should 
devote  his  whole  time  to  the  work.  The  constant  change  of  under- 
graduate organists  was  particularly  harmful.  The  faithful  work  under 
adverse  circumstances  and  the  remarkable  results  shown  by  Mr.  Cot- 
trell  and  Mr.  Dohm,  organist  and  choirmaster  respectively  for  six 
years,  revealed  the  possibilities  that  lay  behind  a  proper  system,  and  in 
1902    Mr.    George    B.    Rodgers    was    appointed    to    the    double    office. 


147 

Speaking  of  his  work  a  year  later  the  Church  Standard  of  May  9,  1903, 
said  in  an  article  on  the  music  at  Trinity  in  Mr.  Baker's  time : 

"Latterly  there  has  been  a  return  to  some  degree  of  the  old-time 
interest.  The  present  organist,  George  B.  Rodgers,  has  undertaken 
the  work  of  restoration.  He  has  been  filling  out  the  choir,  and  now 
has  a  goodly  number  of  fresh  round  voices,  which  balance  and  har- 
monize well  together.  Faithful  drill  is  bringing  the  organization  into 
a  state  of  preparedness.  It  is  fitting,  therefore  that  musical  offices 
should  be  resumed.  On  the  evening  of  the  Second  Sunday  after  Easter 
just  past  there  was  a  full  choral  evensong,  with  anthems  and  address 
appropriate  to  the  occasion.  The  cantor  was  the  curate,  the  Rev. 
Harvey  Officer,  Jr.,  who  gave  a  good  example  to  all  like  officiants  in 
that  he  used  the  "festival  tune"  for  collects,  that  is  the  monotone  with 
proper  inflections  and  cadences." 

Mr.  Rodgers'  personal  influence  has  been  able  to  enlist  the  interest 
of  an  admirable  class,  of  boys,  with  the  result  that  the  morals  and 
discipline  of  the  choir  has  been  improved,  and  he  has  been  enabled  to 
give  Lenten  cantatas  and  to  join  in  special  festival  services  with 
Trinity  Church,  Trenton.  In  recent  years  a  pleasant  feature  has  been 
the  maintenance  of  a  summer  camp  at  Spring  Lake  where,  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of  certain  members  of  the  congregation,  the  choir 
enjoys  an  annual  two  weeks'  outing  at  the  shore.  Another  feature  is 
the  formation  of  the  Galahad  Club  which,  while  open  to  all  young 
men  and  boys  of  the  town  on  election,  has  however  been  specially 
instrumental  in  retaining  the  interest  of  old  choir  boys  resident  in  the 
town. 

V.  L.  C. 

The  St.  Paul's  Society. 
1875-1908. 

The  history  of  the  St.  Paul's  Society  cannot  of  necessity  be  a 
record  of  unusual  or  dramatic  occurrences.  Its  work  from  the  be- 
ginning has  been  of  a  quiet,  undemonstrative  kind  without  especial 
incident  and  marked  chiefly  by  a  gradual  broadening  rendered  possible 
by  the  increase  in  the  number  of  churchmen  in  the  University. 

The  career  of  the  society  from  the  time  of  its  founding  may  be 
divided  into  three  fairly  well  marked  sections  as  follows:  from 
1875 — 1882;  1882 — 1902;  1902 — 1908. 

The  first  record  meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  in  November  1875. 
There  had  however  evidently  been  at  least  one  meeting  before  this' 
for  we  find  a  committee  on  "Name  and  Constitution",  reporting.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  had  existed  since  about  1870  a  society  of  students 
known  as  "The  Rector's  Aid  Society,"  from  which  the  present  St. 
Paul's  Society  is  descended. 


1 48 

At  this  meeting  in  November  1875,  the  present  name  of  the  Society- 
was  adopted  and  from  it  we  may  date  the  corporate  life  of  the  present 
organization.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  exact  date  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained. We  have  however  a  list  of  the  officers  chosen,  and  members 
elected  at  that  meeting  as  follows :  President,  The  Rev.  A.  B.  Baker ; 
Vice-President,  Mr.  Johnson;  Secretary,  Mr.  Mayo;  Treasurer,  Mr. 
Turnure.  Members — Messrs.  Davis,  Whittlesey,  Thompson,  Turnure, 
Townsend,  Clarke,  Parker,  Green,  Pyne,  Williamson,  Barclay,  Walker, 
MacFarland,  Black,  Vail,  Poulteney,  Ridgely,  McAlenout,  Archer  and 
Shriver. 

It  is  probable  that  to  these  as  charter  members  should  be  added  the 
names  of  those  who  had  constituted  the  membership  of  the  Rector's 
Aid  Society ;  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  new  organization,  but  it 
is  impossible  to  secure  any  record  of  such. 

The  Society  thus  organized  soon  became  active  along  several  lines 
of  work.  Regular  monthly  meetings  for  business  were  held  which 
were  preceded  by  religious  exercises.  Special  services  with  visiting 
preachers  were  arranged  and  held.  In  February  1876,  the  Society 
adopted  as  its  own  the  missionary  work  carried  on  at  Princeton  Basin, 
a  work  which  has  been  maintained  ever  since  then.  In  April  1876,  a 
paper  to  be  prepared  by  one  of  the  members  was  made  a  feature  of  the 
meetings.  There  is  no  roll  for  the  year  1875-76,  extant;  but  we  may 
estimate  the  number  of  members  as  probaly  about  thirty.  The  meetings 
were  held  in  the  Sunday  School  room  of  Trinity  Church. 

From  this  point,  i.  e.,  early  in  1876  the  records  of  the  Society  are 
complete  and  satisfactory  for  a  period  of  about  six  years.  Through  this 
time  the  meetings  were  held  monthly  or  fortnightly  and  for  a  time 
weekly  with  an  average  attendance  of  about  twenty.  At  these  meetings 
devotional  exercises  were  held,  business  transacted  and  papers  read. 
The  range  of  subjects  of  these  last  was  very  wide  extending  from 
"Mohammedanism"  to  "The  Feast  of  the  Epiphany,"  and  including 
"Our  Church  Hymns",  "St.  Augustine",  "The  Early  English  Bible", 
and  "The  Nicene  Creed."  The  work  at  the  Basin  Chapel  was  main- 
tained apparently  with  considerable  interest  and  success,  while  about 
1880  the  Rector  widened  the  work  of  the  Society  by  securing  lay  readers 
from  its  members  to  assist  in  the  mission  work  at  Sand  Hills,  and 
Rocky  Hill.  Occasional  services  were  held  especially  during  Lent,  with 
sermons  by  visiting  clergy. 

There  is  also  one  feature  of  this  period  which  should  not  be 
passed  over  entirely  although  because  of  scantiness  of  information  it 
is  impossible  to  do  more  than  mention  it.  We  find  the  Society,  early 
in  its  career  endeavoring  to  place  itself  in  line  with  work  in  other 
colleges  and  universities.  The  Day  of  Prayer  for  Colleges  is  noted  and 
observed.     Correspondence  is  carried  on  with  church  Societies  in  Yale, 


149 

Harvard  and  Trinity.  The  Society  is  represented  at  several  intercolleg- 
itate  meetings  looking  toward  greater  cooperation  among  organizations 
of  church  students,  all  of  which  shows  a  certain  activity  and  breadth 
of  outlook  which  are  most  creditable. 

But  this  was  not  a  time  of  untroubled  calm  or  unbroken  prosperity. 
There  appear  to  have  been  occasional  healthly  differences  of  opinion 
among  the  members.  Early  in  the  Society's  career  a  motion  to  change 
its  name  to  the  Student's  Episcopal  Society  of  Princeton  College  was 
offered  and  laid  on  the  table.  Disciplinary  measures  have  to  be 
adopted  in  regard  to  non-attending  members.  A  motion  that  a  certain 
member  should  read  the  paper  at  the  next  meeting  is  defeated,  though 
we  find  the  member  a  short  time  later  reading  a  paper  and  receiving 
the  thanks  of  the  Society  for  his  "able,  eloquent,  interesting  and  highly 
instructive  composition."  Volunteers  appear  to  be  needed  at  the  Basin 
Sunday  School,  and  the  work  of  the  committee  to  secure  visiting 
preachers  seems  to  have  been  of  a  vexing  character,  one  such  com- 
mittee reporting  that  in  response  to  nine  requests  they  had  received 
nine  refusals. 

We  have  treated  this  period  of  from  1875-1882  in  somewhat  full 
fashion  for  the  reason  that  it  constitutes  the  formative  portion  of  the 
Society's  life.  During  these  years,  the  Society  was  shaping  itself  on 
lines  along  which  was  to  exercise  its  activities  in  its  after  life.  The 
impress  received  in  those  first  years  has  persisted  until  the  present. 
The  period  from  1882-1902,  contains  little  to  be  noted.  The  records  are 
scanty  about  all  that  has  been  preserved  being  the  minutes  of  two 
meetings  held  in  each  college  year  when  officers  were  elected.  The 
custom  of  frequent  meetings  with  papers  read  by  the  members  died  out 
during  this  time.  But  the  period  was  in  the  main  a  holding  to  the 
principles  established  earlier  and  the  value  of  the  Society  while  not  of 
a  sort  than  be  reduced  to  record  was  doubtless  considerable. 

One  branch  of  the  activities  was  of  especial  worth  and  interest, 
namely,  the  lay  reading.  This  both  attracted  and  interested  many  men 
and  also  broadened  their  knowledge  of  the  Church  and  her  ways,  and 
strengthened  their  own  religious  life.  Among  those  who  shared  in  this 
work  were  men  prominent  in  all  sorts  of  college  activities.  It  was  not 
unusual  for  a  lay  reader  to  present  himself  before  his  country  congre- 
gation on  Sunday  bearing  marks  received  on  the  football  field  the 
afternoon  before,  which  made  it  evident  that  here  was  an  active 
member  of  the  church  militant.  During  the  last  three  years  of  this 
period  the  Society  was  especially  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Charles 
S.  Fackenthall. 

The  Society  was  also  strengthened  during  this  period  by  the  steady 
increase  in  members  of  the  church   students  in  the  university. 

The    last   period   of   the    Society's    career    i.e.,    from    1902    to    the 


150 

present  is  largely  the  record  of  one  man's  work.  The  growth  of 
Trinity  Parish  and  the  increasing  number  of  churchmen  in  the  uni- 
versity led  to  the  calling  of  the  Rev.  Harvey  Officer,  Jr.,  as  curate 
of  Trinity,  with  especial  oversight  of  the  St.  Paul's  Society,  and  for 
the  next  four  years,  up  to  the  time  of  his  resignation  in  September 
1906  to  enter  Order  of  the  Holy  Cross,  his  labors  were  largely  respon- 
sible for  increased  interest  and  efficiency.  Gifted  with  great  social 
charm,  endowed  with  extraordinary  intellectual  powers,  above 
all  possessed  of  fervent  zeal  and  deep  spirituality,  he  was  both  splendidly 
equipped  for,  and  eminently  successful  in  his  work. 

Under  his  direction,  the  Society  undertook  systematic  Bible  classes 
for  its  members,  a  monthly  corporate  Communion  was  instituted,  and 
more  frequent  meetings  were  held.  The  mission  work  was  continued 
and  the  Society  became  a  chapter  of  the  Church  Students'  Missionary 
Association  and  sent  delegations  to  its  conventions.  The  special  eve- 
ning services  were  increased,  and  at  last  one  "Quiet  Day"  was  held, 
conducted  by  Fr.  Huntington,  O.  H.  C. 

Since  Fr.  Officer's  resignation  the  work  of  the  Society  has  been 
under  the  general  oversight  of  the  present  curate  of  Trinity,  the  Rev. 
Ralph  B.  Pomeroy,  B.D. 

And  here  we  may  close  our  record,  an  honorable  one  though  it  be 
not  one  of  great  and  signal  events.  The  Society  has  for  over  thirty 
years  striven  to  gather  together  the  sons  of  the  church  to  strengthen 
their  loyalty  and  love  for  their  spiritual  mother.  Nnmbered  among  its 
former  members  are  many  now  faithful  and  devoted  lay  men  and  a 
goodly  number  of  clergy.  One  of  its  former  presidents  has  been 
elevated  to  the  episcopate,  the  Rt.  Rev.  F.  H.  Spalding  D.D.,  '87,  Bishop 
of  Salt  Lake. 

But  the  full  record  of  its  work  can  never  be  written  here  on  earth. 
It  can  only  be  known  at  the  day  of  the  revelation  of  all  things  done 
in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

R.   B.   POMEROY. 


